Vacation spots your friends talked up but you hated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those underwhelmed by Key West, why didn't you like it?

Crowded, touristy, beaches are not nice at all. Duval St. is entertaining for a few hours, but unless you're a heavy partier it wears thin quickly.

[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.

LAUGHING my ass off! Mootsarell....ha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

Agree completely. We used to love going to London. Not anymore.

I'm open minded and progressive and love to travel. I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part. The current diversity has advantages and can be enjoyable and dining is much better, thankfully, but it's lost a lot of what made it unique and it's just another big international city. And it's so very odd to see heavily conservative Muslims wandering around London. And the flip side is that large parts of central London is effectively a ghetto not for the rich, but the very, very superrich. It used to be my favorite city but now I have little interest in seeing London beyond revisiting old friends and catching a show or exhibition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

Agree completely. We used to love going to London. Not anymore.

I'm open minded and progressive and love to travel. I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part. The current diversity has advantages and can be enjoyable and dining is much better, thankfully, but it's lost a lot of what made it unique and it's just another big international city. And it's so very odd to see heavily conservative Muslims wandering around London. And the flip side is that large parts of central London is effectively a ghetto not for the rich, but the very, very superrich. It used to be my favorite city but now I have little interest in seeing London beyond revisiting old friends and catching a show or exhibition.

THIS, completely. It's not the same city anymore, which is very sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

LAUGHING my ass off! Mootsarell....ha!

Ha! I just checked back and saw all these responses to my horrible Italian food experience. To settle the debate, I’m a regular mom, not in high school, not from NY or ethnically Italian. I have talked to a few other people who had a similar experience and I’ve been told that we were just unlucky. I did have good artichokes in Rome and I liked the cacio y pepe. But my real issue was that Italian food seems to be a lot of pasta tossed in a tiny bit of sauce. Occasionally I would order an unadorned, emaciated fish for an additional €40 or some extortionate price. It was miserable, especially since I was pumped to go to a country famous for food. I’ll go to Italy again but I’m packing some clif bars next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

LAUGHING my ass off! Mootsarell....ha!

Ha! I just checked back and saw all these responses to my horrible Italian food experience. To settle the debate, I’m a regular mom, not in high school, not from NY or ethnically Italian. I have talked to a few other people who had a similar experience and I’ve been told that we were just unlucky. I did have good artichokes in Rome and I liked the cacio y pepe. But my real issue was that Italian food seems to be a lot of pasta tossed in a tiny bit of sauce. Occasionally I would order an unadorned, emaciated fish for an additional €40 or some extortionate price. It was miserable, especially since I was pumped to go to a country famous for food. I’ll go to Italy again but I’m packing some clif bars next time.

I ate really well in Italy, but I can sympathize with your experience. We had super average food in Paris. Probably because we weren't "in the know" - we went to a lot of those charming parisian cafes (that seemed to be filled with parisians?!) and everything was mediocre. That said, I recognize good food takes some hunting down. In Italy, I felt like I didn't have to hunt too much, which I appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those underwhelmed by Key West, why didn't you like it?

Crowded, touristy, beaches are not nice at all. Duval St. is entertaining for a few hours, but unless you're a heavy partier it wears thin quickly.

I have not been in a while, but I always enjoyed Key West. Yes, Duval Street gets a little old, but I find Key West to be a fun place to hang out. I do agree that the beaches are pretty underwhelming.

[Anonymous]

What's not to like about Alaska??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Miami. A freakshow of cartoonish looking people.

+1
And humidity of epic proportions.

'

+2 Was totally underwhelmed by Miami,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

This will be the US if we allow George Soros to influence all levels of elections. He is already pushing tax payer provided heroin and injustices in Washington and a border less world. Crazy man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

Agree completely. We used to love going to London. Not anymore.

I'm open minded and progressive and love to travel. I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part. The current diversity has advantages and can be enjoyable and dining is much better, thankfully, but it's lost a lot of what made it unique and it's just another big international city. And it's so very odd to see heavily conservative Muslims wandering around London. And the flip side is that large parts of central London is effectively a ghetto not for the rich, but the very, very superrich. It used to be my favorite city but now I have little interest in seeing London beyond revisiting old friends and catching a show or exhibition.

THIS, completely. It's not the same city anymore, which is very sad.

Hopefully Britxit will help restore what 10 years of unrestricted immigration created.

[Anonymous]

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.

+100. And the cost of everything! Outrageous. The Caribbean is way better, closer, more beautiful and less expensive.

I've been to Hawaii twice and I agree that while it's lovely, coming from the East coast it doesn't seem worth it vs. the Caribbean. The first time I went (to Maui) it was when I lived in LA. There, going to Hawaii is like going to FL from DC. Nice but not amazing. Only went the 2nd time, now that I live in DC, because DH really wanted to go. We had a great trip (the Big Island) but it's really not worth the travel time to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYC. I hate the place. It has really great museums and that is it. Even the restaurants are highly overrated and shopping is a nightmare and better done online. Forget using the subway if you care about your health or safety. I lived within 50 miles of NYC for ten years and did everything in my power to never go in the city if I didn't have to. I love to travel and I am not scared of big cities but I just hate everything about NYC. Why people com from Europe and spend days in NYC is a mystery to me.

I just don't get this.

I do. I never understand people who rave about NYC. Chicago? Sure. Boston? Yep. But NYC depresses the hell out of me.

NYC makes me feel claustrophobic. But, we'll be going for a couple days this summer because my teens want to see it. Saving grace is that I love Broadway shows. After a couple days there we'll head on to Boston, which I love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

Agree completely. We used to love going to London. Not anymore.

I'm open minded and progressive and love to travel. I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part. The current diversity has advantages and can be enjoyable and dining is much better, thankfully, but it's lost a lot of what made it unique and it's just another big international city. And it's so very odd to see heavily conservative Muslims wandering around London. And the flip side is that large parts of central London is effectively a ghetto not for the rich, but the very, very superrich. It used to be my favorite city but now I have little interest in seeing London beyond revisiting old friends and catching a show or exhibition.

THIS, completely. It's not the same city anymore, which is very sad.

Hopefully Britxit will help restore what 10 years of unrestricted immigration created.

Wow, I’m surprised. It’s probably been 12 years since I’ve been there. I thought it would be a fun place for my kids first international trip. I guess not? This makes me sad. I had a great time visiting there, although food was overpriced and average at best when I was last there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another Hawaii disappointment.

Everything is so ... manufactured. The culture, activities, etc. it’s like a big Disneyland that’s just a little prettier. The nature was pretty, but not as incredible as I expected with a few notable exceptions. Too many tourists, too many resorts, and I always look for places off the beaten path.

Compared to places with stunning marine life (Fiji, Galapagos, Polynesia) it places with nice beaches or views (Zanzibar, Pemba island, Maldives, certain parts of Thailand), or compared to places with culture (Italy, France, Bangkok) or history (siem reap, Vietnam, most anywhere in Europe) or nice cities (Paris, Rome, Capetown, Quito, etc) it seemed like it it was short in all dimensions.

Sorry you didn't find the off the beaten path stuff. We Didn't stay at a resort we rented a cottage. We rented a car and found lots of stuff the other tourists didn't. My favorite was an unmarked beach with awesome snorkeling. Saw several green turtles!

Hilarious that pp is describing Hawaii as Disney-like, yet Rome is unique??
Rome was the most Epcot like city I’ve ever been to!
Where’d you go in Hawaii? Waikiki? Lol.
Try Maui ( not just Wailea) or Hana. You’ll change your mind quickly.