Most overrated/underrated tourist attraction

[Luv2play]

4 hours ago, mike carey said:

The sandwich thing reflects something that is shared in immigrant communities. There are often stories of Italian or Asian students from immigrant families in this country trading their lunches, of items common in their cuisine (think of salami and pickled vegetables for people from Mediterranean countries) for mundane and dare I say boring Anglo food like processed cheese, peanut butter or Vegemite sandwiches. What you eat three tines a day is less attractive, particularly for children, than something that is rare or uncommon. Even lobster for every meal could become boring. I suspect for me it could take quite a while for that to happen, though!

Spot on. This is a sociological phenomenon that is sometimes observed, although it appears bizarre to most of us. Human behaviour is sometimes confounding which makes life all the more interesting.🤔

[Guest]

9 hours ago, mike carey said:

... boring Anglo food like processed cheese, peanut butter or Vegemite sandwiches...

I think Vegemite is a purely Aussie phenomenon. I don't think anyone else can stomach it...

[+ WilliamM]

U nderrated  Marrinski Opera House in St Petersburg, Russia when performing  favorites like Madam Butterfly.

Overrated when attempting Wagner Opera with  scenery left over from  when Lenin was still alive, especially the Ring cycle

[ArmyHands]

I lived here all my life... I have never EVER been up there.... its just a SIGN what's soo special about it ????

[Epigonos]

The Hollywood sign originally went up in 1923 as an advertisement for a local housing development.  As time passed it became an iconic symbol of the Hollywood film industry.  By the early 1970's it was in a state of near total collapse.  The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce started a fund raising effort to collect the three quarters of a million dollars to re-build the entire sign.  Several Hollywood notables made donations and the funds were raised and the sign was completely rebuilt.  Years ago a group of my high school photography student and I made the climb up to the sign and took lots of great shots of the L.A. basin. 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Epigonos

[Epigonos]

Years and years ago some Australian friends of mine insisted that I try Vegemite.  They assured me I would love it.  To this day I'm convinced they were sure I would absolutely hate it.  The joke, however, turned out to be on them as I loved it.  I've never had much of a sweet tooth but have always loved salty things and Vegemite was right up my alley.  I always have a jar of it in my pantry. 

[larrynormann]

8 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I think Vegemite is a purely Aussie phenomenon. I don't think anyone else can stomach it...

Totally agree. If you have not been brought up on the stuff in your early years (which I have not) you can't eat it. In the UK it is also eaten as Marmite. 

[mike carey]

14 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I think Vegemite is a purely Aussie phenomenon. I don't think anyone else can stomach it...

Yeah, I know (although not uniquely, as @Epigonosattests). In the context of an Aussie school playground, Vegemite definitely falls into the 'Anglo food' category.

[Luv2play]

On 11/14/2021 at 8:46 PM, ArmyHands said:

I lived here all my life... I have never EVER been up there.... its just a SIGN what's soo special about it ????

Didn't the sign originally have a "land" tagged on the end. I believe it was built by a developer trying to sell lots in Los Angeles. It came to mean a lot more after they lopped off the "land".

[ArmyHands]

25 minutes ago, Luv2play said:

Didn't the sign originally have a "land" tagged on the end. I believe it was built by a developer trying to sell lots in Los Angeles. It came to mean a lot more after they lopped off the "land".

Yes it did.....

[+ Coolwave35]

The Big Duck on Long Island. 

[Prime38]

Hollywood/Highland area in LA.

[Islesguy]

On 11/15/2021 at 10:08 PM, Coolwave35 said:

The Big Duck on Long Island. 

Wow, someone actually knows about it. 

[+ nycman]

On 11/14/2021 at 1:22 PM, WilliamM said:

U nderrated  Marrinski Opera House in St Petersburg, Russia when performing  favorites like Madam Butterfly.

Overrated when attempting Wagner Opera with  scenery left over from  when Lenin was still alive, especially the Ring cycle

I once saw a "wall" collapse during a performance at the Mariinsky circa 1993.

At the time I thought….and we were worried about losing the Cold War?

On the same trip, I saw La Bayadère at the Bolshoi, and during
The Kingdom of the Shades, I thought ….how did we ever win?

Edited November 23, 2021 by nycman

[+ azdr0710]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:33 PM, Prime38 said:

Hollywood/Highland area in LA.

Underrated or overrated??!! 😀

[Epigonos]

I'm going to take a lot of heat on this one from several posters.  I've just returned from a four day trip to Arizona.  I spent two days in Phoenix and two days in Sedona.  As far as I'm concerned Sedona is one of the most overrated places in the world.  Yes it is beautiful. Yes it has lots of hiking trails, if you're into hiking.  Yes it has several fancy spas, if you're into that.  It used to have several outstanding Southwest Native American Arts and Crafts galleries but only Garland's remains.  The place is now full of T.T's (Tourist Traps) selling T-shirts and other junk.  Thus when all is said and done after a day or two two the place is boring and expensive.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Epigonos

[Beancounter]

When I lived in Valencia, Spain years ago I was introduced to Las Fallas, a week long celebration in March. There were beautiful and exquisite statues built and placed throughout the city.  At the end of the Las Fallas celebratory week all the statues were set on fire.  Truly a sight to behold and very much underrated. 

I suspect few people outside of Spain are aware of Las Fallas.  

[Guest]

In Arizona, Sedona is over-rated.  Under-rated, Kartchner Caverns State Park, in Southern Arizona, about an hour east of Tucson.  Far more spectacular than Carlsbad, and more pristine.  

[BSR]

4 hours ago, Beancounter said:

When I lived in Valencia, Spain years ago I was introduced to Las Fallas, a week long celebration in March. There were beautiful and exquisite statues built and placed throughout the city.  At the end of the Las Fallas celebratory week all the statues were set on fire.  Truly a sight to behold and very much underrated. 

I suspect few people outside of Spain are aware of Las Fallas.  

Thanks for remembering Las Fallas, a truly underrated tourist event.  The elaborate sculptures (some 4 stories high, and they get bigger every year) are made of wood and papier-mâché, so they burn quite spectacularly.  They also have a magnificent fireworks display, which was more impressive than any I've ever seen in the US.  Las Fallas is definitely worth the trip.  

[Beancounter]

@BSR....and thank you for posting those wonderful pictures of Las Fallas.  I spent one year in València studying at the University of València.  Great memories of those days.  

[+ cougar]

I am surprised that I have not seen anyone mention anything about Scottland, Belgium, Germany or Czechoslovakia. I have all four on my bucket list, I just hope I will be able to afford all four once I retire. I love old world architecture and I know I would be awestruck walking around the cities in those countries. 

[+ E.T.Bass]

On 11/23/2021 at 6:41 AM, azdr0710 said:

Underrated or overrated??!! 😀

My brother and sister in law (Midwest rural people) wanted to drive through there.  Was at night.  The colorful lights were impressive to them.  I rarely choose to be in that area.

Another brother and his wife wanted to see Rodeo Drive.  For me that was a huge waste of time.

 

 

[+ Charlie]

The Alamo is one of the most over-rated tourist attractions. The building that most people think of when they "Remember the Alamo!" is not the real site of the battle, which was a nearby barracks. That iconic facade that always appears in every movie or advertisement is actually a nearby church that the organizers who turned the Alamo into a memorial to the battle chose, because they didn't think the barracks--which had been turned into a grocery store in the years following the battle--was photogenic enough to attract visitors. The battle itself wasn't even particularly important, until Texas myth-makers got hold of it in the later 19th century, and the entertainment media latched on to it in the 20th century. Legends need heroes, so the most prominent men who were killed were turned into the leading characters in the battle of those who "fought to the death" for "independence." However, William Travis was actually a self-serving lawyer who was killed at the very start of the battle, Jim Bowie was an illegal slave-trader who was ill with malaria and was killed in his sick-bed, and Davy Crockett actually surrendered to save his life, only to be executed anyway. Sorry to disappoint those of you who still have your Davy Crockett coon-skin caps.

[MikeBiDude]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

The Alamo is one of the most over-rated tourist attractions. The building that most people think of when they "Remember the Alamo!" is not the real site of the battle, which was a nearby barracks. That iconic facade that always appears in every movie or advertisement is actually a nearby church that the organizers who turned the Alamo into a memorial to the battle chose, because they didn't think the barracks--which had been turned into a grocery store in the years following the battle--was photogenic enough to attract visitors. The battle itself wasn't even particularly important, until Texas myth-makers got hold of it in the later 19th century, and the entertainment media latched on to it in the 20th century. Legends need heroes, so the most prominent men who were killed were turned into the leading characters in the battle of those who "fought to the death" for "independence." However, William Travis was actually a self-serving lawyer who was killed at the very start of the battle, Jim Bowie was an illegal slave-trader who was ill with malaria and was killed in his sick-bed, and Davy Crockett actually surrendered to save his life, only to be executed anyway. Sorry to disappoint those of you who still have your Davy Crockett coon-skin caps.

Say whaaaaaat? 😂

 

[+ azdr0710]

2 hours ago, Charlie said:

The Alamo is one of the most over-rated tourist attractions. The building that most people think of when they "Remember the Alamo!" is not the real site of the battle, which was a nearby barracks. That iconic facade that always appears in every movie or advertisement is actually a nearby church that the organizers who turned the Alamo into a memorial to the battle chose, because they didn't think the barracks--which had been turned into a grocery store in the years following the battle--was photogenic enough to attract visitors. The battle itself wasn't even particularly important, until Texas myth-makers got hold of it in the later 19th century, and the entertainment media latched on to it in the 20th century. Legends need heroes, so the most prominent men who were killed were turned into the leading characters in the battle of those who "fought to the death" for "independence." However, William Travis was actually a self-serving lawyer who was killed at the very start of the battle, Jim Bowie was an illegal slave-trader who was ill with malaria and was killed in his sick-bed, and Davy Crockett actually surrendered to save his life, only to be executed anyway. Sorry to disappoint those of you who still have your Davy Crockett coon-skin caps.

The Sons of The Republic of Texas are looking for new members. When they contact me for a reference, I promise not to mention this post. 

https://www.srttexas.org/

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by azdr0710