which place was a real "let down" for you?
May 17th, 2002, 02:49 PM
#21
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PS<BR>I CAN appreciate that others have different points of view. I just don't appreciate that, because my view is different to theirs, I must be stupid.I could start another thread asking which was your most memorable place but somebody got there first!!!! By the way, mine is Rome!!
May 17th, 2002, 03:42 PM
#22
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Of course the let down is in our own minds, not in the city itself. We could have a city that neighbors our home towns built up in our minds, until we see it. It is not a slam on a city, just a slam on our expectations. Haven't you gone someplace new and thought "this isn't at all what I expected"? Good or bad.<BR>Usually I am overwhelmed with "meeting" a place that I have heard about all of my life, and have yet to be really disappointed. I can usually find something about a place to like, ie: the food, the clean air, <BR>the buildings, etc. If all else fails, a smile or greeting from a local person can be enough.
May 17th, 2002, 03:48 PM
#23
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Haarlem, in the Netherlands, because there was a very large loud carnival set up right in the middle of the old town square.We were totally glad that we had been unable to book the hotel on the square as we had tried to do several months earlier. Otherwise , I am sure we would have liked it very much. We found the Corrie ten Boom House very moving and interesting. The old church there had a magnificient pipe organ.<BR><BR>Also, we enjoyed Amsterdam. We stayed in Hotel Agora very close to the Flower Market on Singel Canal.Both Singel and Herrenstrasse(sp) Canals were lovely and quite clean. We were very impressed with how efficient the public transportation was. The tulips were unbelieveably beautiful!<BR>Since we live in Louisiana, we are very familar with New Orleans and Bourbon Street. We stayed far away from the Red Light District in Amsterdam, and I am glad we did, from how people have described it. It sounds a lot like Bourbon Street!
May 17th, 2002, 03:58 PM
#25
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Sure we can say it is all in our heads, but sometimes it is in how people around us in a place behave, like David's experience in Amsterdam. While undoubtedly the people themselves are to blame, the city can sometimes be the match that lights such behavior.<BR><BR>I'm glad David told the story, rich experiences don't always have to be of the Pollyanna variety. I don't think your're ever going to forget that experience, for better or worse, are you?
May 17th, 2002, 04:03 PM
#26
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Lina, he let a part of the city ruin the whole city for him. I don't care for Amsterdam much either, but I would avoid the parts I don't like, not stand in the middle and keep thinking "I hate this place with their prostitutes, etc". Move on to the suburbs.
May 17th, 2002, 04:03 PM
#27
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Paris was a huge let done for us. So many people on this board are always raving about Paris, Paris, Paris!!! It's really just a dirty city full of obnoxious, rude, unbathed gossipmongers who smoke too much. And there was plenty of crime. It was quite amusing for us to see how easily it is for bored, old, schoolteachers wearing Khakis and sneakers to be so impressed by all of this. We won't miss this dumpy city of lights.
May 17th, 2002, 04:35 PM
#30
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You choose your destination & normally have some amount of control - don't you? to change your hotel, your restaurant, your hangout, the neighborhoods that you are visiting.<BR><BR>I LOVED New York (steel and glass how awful), Paris (musta missed the amazing dog shit and no one even mentioned the rude waiters i didn't find), Venice (the canals don't stink in August), Geneva (not boring). <BR><BR>I'm off to Amsterdam solo in June... so maybe I'll have to eat my words but I'm guessing I will have a great time!
May 17th, 2002, 04:46 PM
#31
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To me, Amsterdam is so beautiful because of the large trees along the canals, the canals themselves, the many small bridges over the canals, the 17th century canal houses and the leafy Vondel Park. I like seeing the people on bicycles, the church bells ring, the dogs on leashes everywhere. The scale of Amsterdam is small and people will actually smile at you.<BR><BR>Curly, I know there are ugly parts, but I've more or less ignored those the two times I've been. (I don't make it a habit of touring drug and prostitution areas at home, as well.) As far as food, going to the Netherlands and expecting anything but plain food is probably a mistake. Of course, simple pleasures like pancakes, delicious pies, breads and cheeses can be a treat. <BR><BR>These perferences are so personal and subjective: we are all entiltled to them and it is interesting to hear people's reactions. That means I'm entitled to my opinion as well. Now my two cents is that there are many people who do not recognize beauty when they see it.
May 17th, 2002, 05:17 PM
#33
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London as an Adult, I had gone on my ninth grade school trip to London and thought it was paradise. Went back as an adult and hated it ( twice ) No different then NYC or any big city had lost all it's charm to me . Still did Love the English People .
May 17th, 2002, 09:30 PM
#38
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To me, Amsterdam is so beautiful because of the large trees along the canals, the canals themselves, the many small bridges over the canals, the 17th century canal houses and the leafy Vondel Park. I like seeing the people on bicycles, the church bells ring, the dogs on leashes everywhere. The scale of Amsterdam is small and people will actually smile at you.<BR><BR>Curly, I know there are ugly parts, but I've more or less ignored those the two times I've been. (I don't make it a habit of touring drug and prostitution areas at home, as well.) As far as food, going to the Netherlands and expecting anything but plain food is probably a mistake. Of course, simple pleasures like pancakes, delicious pies, breads and cheeses can be a treat. <BR><BR>These perferences are so personal and subjective: we are all entiltled to them and it is interesting to hear people's reactions. That means I'm entitled to my opinion as well. Now my two cents is that there are many people who do not recognize beauty when they see it.
