Aduchamp1

I too enjoy natural beauty, even unnatural beauty. (I just made that up, I do not even know what it means.)

Beleive me, I do not like kicking newspapers, flyers, and worse from my shoes as i walk the neighborhood.

Enjoy the world, as do I.

brmsimmons

Put me on the list as one who enjoyed Madrid.


Places I would not go back-

St.Maarten- as others have stated the resort areas are okay but once you leave those areas there is abject poverty. Plus the site of a 70+ yo man running down Orient Beach wearing nothing but running shoes is something I wish I could unsee. I think running is an activity that requires at least 1 or 2 items of clothing despite age or gender.

The Outer Banks- I just don't get why everyone loves it so much.

Marseille,France- As the second largest city in France it was not what I envisioned when visiting a French coastal city, especially given my previous experience on the French Riviera in Cannes.

Antalya,Turkey- I found the turkish culture very interesting, however the agressiveness and vulgarity of some of the men completely soured my experience.

Vicky

I did not like Brussels and I'd looked forward to seeing it for many years. It just had a weird vibe and was dirty with lots of homeless. Excellent street waffles though and a delicious gyro for like 3 euro. I did like Brugge, though.

ronnie36

"I am only intolerant of the intolerant. When someone talks abut travel and they complain about sanitary conditions, I do not listen to the rest of the story. Unless it involves safety such as dead animals in the streets, like my cousin encountered in Lagos, Nigeria or the water may be tatinted, as in many places, I simply do not care that you are offended by graffitti or papers on the ground."

Yeah, but again you are defining "tolerance" by YOUR point of view. You may not like people to complain about unsanitary conditions but that doesn't mean their opinion isn't valid. Some might see you as intolerant because your upset by dead animals in the street. Personally, I don't like unsanitary conditions OR dead animals in the street, who does. One big yuck.

misty_in_stl

Paris last spring - horrible weather, less than friendly people even with speaking French, and god awful blisters on my feet. I recognize some of my gripes were beyond my control, but it definitely colored the trip. I'm in no hurry to return.

basingstoke2

My second trip to Italy was with my oldest son, then about 13. We visited Naples, a place that I had always wanted to see. We found it unpleasant to say the least although our day in Herculaneum was super. From Naples we went on to Rome - again our first trip there. I was pickpocketed our first morning by a bunch of kids. Luckily all they got were travelers checks (back then it was good to use them) and I soon got them back. However, coming on the heels of our poor experience in Naples, it colored that part of the trip so that for several years I only had negative thoughts about the Eternal City that have since been overcome by more positive visits. Not so for Naples although I have been back 4-5 times.

Yostwl

Aduchamp: My wife and I will be spending a long weekend in NYC the first week of May. I will chronicle any dirt, filth, and trash, plus any gut/blood splattered operating rooms we come across in our wanderings.

jcoz23

I've never been disappointed with a whole trip but certain cities have not lived up to their reputation as far as I'm concerned. I think we all have our own opinions when it comes to that... After reading through this thread I can say I absolutely loved Madrid, Barcelona, Vienna and Brugge. But Dublin (tried it twice) just strikes me as a big dirty city, and Prague is sure beautiful but my friends and I were bored stiff there (we allotted extra time there because everyone had told us how wonderful it is). For me it's not necessarily about an isolated bad incident, I usually can get past that (my husband and I LOVE Rome even though he was pickpocketed the last time we were there), it's just a general feeling I get that a certain place doesn't do anything for me!

Aduchamp1

Aduchamp: My wife and I will be spending a long weekend in NYC the first week of May. I will chronicle any dirt, filth, and trash, plus any gut/blood splattered operating rooms we come across in our wanderings.


Please do. And do not forget to place it in the proper resceptacle.

carioca4ed

I was really scared in Naples..I had this romantic idea of what it would be like...It was very dirty,very noisy,and I just did not feel safe....This is from someone who has walked around the Gorbals,at night,(part of Glasgow),east-end of Glasgow,at night,New york at night,London at night,etc.,etc.,etc.

dgassa

My most disappointing trip is the one I don't take!

emily71

Definitely Brussels-

Food was delicious(chocolate, waffles and beer) but way too much graffiti and dirt even in the tourist areas. Looked more run down than I imagined.

JulieAgain

Jamaica - yuk! Most Caribbean islands - yuk. We have a saying - "You've seen one dirty little island, you've seen them all!" (By the way, I know this is an exaggeration) Love all other trips we've taken.

Re: ruises & sitting on the beach - We have found that it depends on our stage of life & immediate need of what we want for trip satisfaction. Was a time in our life that we were not satisfied unless our minds were stimulated - museums, sites, history, etc. There was a time in our working lives that all we wanted to do was vegetate on a beach - & we did. A time when we wanted lots of outdoor activity.

Now that we are retired, we take all of these different types of trips - nature, active, beach, cruise, history, etc. Now we love them all!

We take a cruise when we want to relax - no must dos, no thinking(!), no getting lost, no hauling bags around, but mostly when we want to devote time to just ourselves & each other. But then we are not the usual cruisers. We rarely go to the dining room; go to the alternative dining instead. Don't go to see the stage shows. Don't partake of any group activities. Don't overeat. Don't fight for a place at the pool. We just sit & watch the water go by; read; watch movies on our portable DVD player that we have not had time to watch at home; enjoy each other; enjoy being waited on; enjoy only unpacking once; love walking around the ports on our own (itinerary is important to us), we even make sure to get in our daily exercise. So, we try to get in 1 cruise a year along with our other types of travel.

Just absolutely thrilled that we can afford to travel & are still healthy enough to do so.

Happy travels to everyone.

Gablefan

Mark me down as one who will never go on a cruise again. My "regular life" is so regimented...why should I pay lots of money so someone can tell me when I can have dinner, when I can go ashore...no, thanks. Might as well punch a timecard. And I think I'm the only person who actually lost weight on a cruise; the stabilizer was out and I was seasick the whole time.

For me, Honolulu and Hawaii are almost two different places. I get out of Honolulu ASAP and go to the Big Island or Kauai. For those who've hated Hawaii, maybe getting out of Honolulu would make a difference.

teach2travel

Bangkok and Lisbon

jjkbrook

Interesting thread.

I was disappointed with Paris - the architecture wasnt very interesting (think the UES of NY) and of course the fact the churches had been gutted out during the revolutionary/Napoleonic periods didnt help. OK some great food culture and museums, and our apt location on Ile St. Louis was really nice, but the place just didnt have enough of a feeling of history or romance to send us. I found provincial french cities and towns much more interesting and evocative.

We love Rome, Naples and Venice (Florence not as much). Travelling off season makes a big difference in enjoyment, we find.

Dont like European beaches, either the way they are or the way they are used. I think we americans are spoiled with our big, wide, sandy lightly used beaches.

Dont get the bathroom problems - there is always going to be a bit of variation in customs in this as in other areas, but certainly in Europe bathrooms are almost always clean and equipped. Even so, Ive always carried a bit of toilet paper and usually a hand towel in my bag (to swab my brow or whatever) when travelling - usually not needed - certainly all the handwipes and stuff I took to India last year was not needed .