Vacation spots your friends talked up but you hated

[Anonymous]

Savannah

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weirdly, Istanbul. The men were very aggressive there.

Where? In the market? In a night club? I found walking through the city to be very easy, occasionally someone would try to get me to come into their shop or buy something from a stall I was passing but otherwise I was not harassed by men. I didn't go to nightclubs so can't comment on that. You can't look like a easy mark tourist in any market culture city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also thought Hawaii was just ok. for the amount of time it took to get there, I really wanted everything to be just over the top amazing, and while it was all really nice, I was a little underwhelmed.

I bet you didn’t go to Kauai

that's actually exactly where we went. Spent a week there and a week on Maui.

Unless you really love the beach and hiking then there isn't much to do on any of the islands. The Volcano Nat Park on the Big Island is really the only unique thing and I recommend it to anyone visiting Hawaii. You can Whale watch tons of places not in Hawaii. The Polynesian Culture Center is a tourist trap. There is little history except maybe the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace which are both not outstanding as far as museums. Hawaii is extremely over rated and I lived there!

[Anonymous]

Memphis.

So boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Florence.. definitely my least favorite cit in Italy.
Bahamas/Freeport- it was depressing.

You have to love history and art to fully appreciate Florence because it isn't a shopping destination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This only partly answers the question, but- I was stunned about how awful the food was in Italy. I wanted to pull them aside and teach them how to cook Italian food.

I think maybe you were eating at the wrong places.

It's either a troll. Or a high school student wanting to be cool by being contrary. Or someone who was genuinely, genuinely and terribly unlucky. I suspect either of the first two (or both). Italy is possibly the easiest country to eat well of all the countries in Europe and the Western world. Although I do remember one school trip to Italy decades ago when we were served the same boring spaghetti and simple tomato sauce every night for dinner but it was hardly awful and we had opportunities to eat other things during lunches and for snacks (and ate very well).

Or some horrible NY Italian who has never been to Italy before, says Mootsarell, Gabagool, and Galamar and thinks their Nonni's lasagna made with ground chuck and canned Parmesan cheese is the true way to cook Italian. There is nothing worse than a NY Italian on a trip to Italy. Well except maybe a NY Italian thinking they know how to cook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[quotel=Anonymous]Can we please move on from OBX? And back to the original topic? I was enjoying it before.

I thought Ireland was pretty lame. People talk it up so much I don't get it. Some one up thread said they hated Morocco. I loved it. One of my favorite trips.

Tell me more about Ireland- why was it lame? I wanted to plan a trip there.

If you like history with castles and manor houses and some nice scenery and hiking then Ireland is very nice. They speak English and aren't overly formal. But the weather will be cold and raining no matter when you go. Be prepared. I think people get caught up in some romance novel aspect of Ireland and go there expecting to find their Irish roots and it just isn't likely to fulfill that. Depends on your reason for going and how much of the country you see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t enjoy Barcelona. There were some nice moments but overall I was bored. I think it’s because I didn’t care for the architecture and that’s a big part of the appeal to many people.

What? Seriously? Did you leave the Hotel or the La Rambla? I have been there a few times and have to make myself sleep because there is so much to do and see. Even if you take the city bus tour and hop on and off it will take you a few days. Architecture? The Architecture in Barcelona spans from Roman to Gothic to Medieval to Moorish to a dozen others. You didn't like any of that or you don't like Architecture? Fine, there are museums, palaces, beaches, ruins, churches, sports, shopping, festivals, factory tours. How can anyone be bored in Barcelona?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Paris. I don't get it.

I thought the city was dirty, unfriendly, etc. I was nervous about pick-pocketing the whole time. The food was not good. And the sites were less impressive in person.

I loved the rest of France. But I would never go back to Paris.

Um you just did it wrong. Sorry to say. Try again?

+1

m
Yes if you think the food wasn’t good then you went to bad restaurants. I assure you that there are good ones.

Walk along the back streets near Place Saint Michel and there are ton of nice restaurants to choose from. I also like to pop into a bakery and cheese shop and make a picnic. The tourist areas don't have great restaurants. Also anytime you travel to Paris be prepared for a workers strike and have alternatives for travel and museums. I recommend the private museum Musée Jacquemart-André for when the Louvre is on strike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weirdly, Istanbul. The men were very aggressive there.

Where? In the market? In a night club? I found walking through the city to be very easy, occasionally someone would try to get me to come into their shop or buy something from a stall I was passing but otherwise I was not harassed by men. I didn't go to nightclubs so can't comment on that. You can't look like a easy mark tourist in any market culture city.

I found the men there to be very aggressive too- everywhere (didn't even go to nightclubs). Despite this, I loved Instanbul and Turkey.

Places that were disappointing- Alaska, Nevis, Martha's Vineyard/Cape Cod.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This only partly answers the question, but- I was stunned about how awful the food was in Italy. I wanted to pull them aside and teach them how to cook Italian food.

I think maybe you were eating at the wrong places.

It's either a troll. Or a high school student wanting to be cool by being contrary. Or someone who was genuinely, genuinely and terribly unlucky. I suspect either of the first two (or both). Italy is possibly the easiest country to eat well of all the countries in Europe and the Western world. Although I do remember one school trip to Italy decades ago when we were served the same boring spaghetti and simple tomato sauce every night for dinner but it was hardly awful and we had opportunities to eat other things during lunches and for snacks (and ate very well).

Or some horrible NY Italian who has never been to Italy before, says Mootsarell, Gabagool, and Galamar and thinks their Nonni's lasagna made with ground chuck and canned Parmesan cheese is the true way to cook Italian. There is nothing worse than a NY Italian on a trip to Italy. Well except maybe a NY Italian thinking they know how to cook.

The only time I've been chubby in my life was after a 3 week trip to Italy. The food was amazing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cape Cod
Martha's Vineyard
Savannah
Boston
Jamaica
Belgium

They are all underwhelming!

If you don't like Belgium you must not like amazing beer, chocolate, waffles, fries, etc etc To me it's the best place to eat in the world...all the best of German and French food mixed together. I love it there. I could live there.

Agree! I lived near the Belgium border in Germany and found tons of things to see and do in Belgium. I think people just don't know how to travel. Even if you never leave Brussels there are plenty to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Memphis.

So boring.

Memphis is all about Blues and BBQ. Unless you want to sit in a bar eating and listening to music then it best not to go. The riverfront isn't that exciting either and the Pyramid used to have great traveling museum exhibits but not anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weirdly, Istanbul. The men were very aggressive there.

Where? In the market? In a night club? I found walking through the city to be very easy, occasionally someone would try to get me to come into their shop or buy something from a stall I was passing but otherwise I was not harassed by men. I didn't go to nightclubs so can't comment on that. You can't look like a easy mark tourist in any market culture city.

I found the men there to be very aggressive too- everywhere (didn't even go to nightclubs). Despite this, I loved Instanbul and Turkey.

Places that were disappointing- Alaska, Nevis, Martha's Vineyard/Cape Cod.

I didn't find the men any more aggressive than any other Arab or Mediterranean country. I do put off airs of don't F with me though.

My problem with Istanbul is that in recent years it has become extremely religious. You used to be able to have a glass of wine or beer in any little restaurant or street cafe. Now if the cafe is near a mosque you will not be able to order alcohol because owners are scared. On a trip three years ago a cab driver refused to take me somewhere because he said it was haram. Sadly, Istanbul is someplace I don't think most western women should travel to right now.

[Anonymous]

Amelia Island
Key West
Smoky Mountains, Tenn.
St. Lucia

Wouldn't say I hated them, but was underwhelmed. Ditto for Kiawah even though it was lovely. Just not a match for our family.