Have you ever visited a place with a certain positive stereotype and felt underwhelmed when visiting?

[Nevada2012]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

I didn't get it. Ate at top 25 restaurants on TripAdvisor. Food was ok/decent but every meal was $180 and I didn't eat a single steak while we were there. Traffic/parking sucked, smokestacks pouring something into the sky on the outskirts of the city, sure it has history but a block from the museum with the Rocky steps is full of trash and homeless guys panhandling. Even the airport was filthy.

This was very cool though:
https://www.phillymagicgardens.org/


The detail was crazy. Place was in a regular neighborhood across the street from a Whole Foods/WaWa.

I stayed at an AirBnB right off Rittenhouse Square. Beautiful space in very nice neighborhood.

I'm not a foodie , so food is basically energy to me...

Thought the "vibe" was great. walked all over Center City. Thought the Washington Square and Gayborhood areas were very pleasant and I could see myself living in either area - but prefer Rittenhouse.

People were friendly and met a couple from my area buying a condo there to retire to.

Went to an Italian restaurant staffed by Albanians. The waiters were great and full of questions about California.

It felt like home to me......

And most importantly I didn't need a car.... I hate cars... can't wait to sell mine when I retire...

[slowlane3]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

I think it's more about your own expectations. Especially with popular tourist sites. We often learn about famous attractions from a magazine article or TV show where they filmed at off hours and behind the scenes access, presenting the attraction in the very best light. Then you get there in person and see the hordes of tourists lining up, the construction scaffolding in places, and the vendors harassing you every ten seconds to buy junk.

The same way with Ireland and Scotland. The promoters take beautiful photos on clear days when it isn't raining,

[Brave New World]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Paris, France. A nice city:: very good museums, restaurants, historical significance, shopping, etc. But, lots of beggars, bums, and parts of the city and the Paris Metro is not that clean. I was underwhelmed.

It depends where you go in Paris, however it is generally a fairly nice city imho.

I think it might be worth checking out videos of areas before visiting that way you have more realistic expectations. There are lots of good walking videos on the net these days.

[Brave New World]

As for London, you cabn always have a walk in one of the many beautiful parks or walk down the Thames embankment or south bank.

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