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waitingman... Broadens the mind & weakens the wallet
Here's a list of places that some travel writers find either underwhelming, over-crowded, or just plain over-rated
Can't say I agree with all of them, but I haven't been to all of them either... Perhaps Pink Halen can provide an eyewitness corroboration or contradiction - he's far better travelled than me... or anyone else I know!!
3 that I disagreed with:
Mt. Rushmore: They say... “The problem is that it is set very high in the hills, so far away from the viewing platform at the national park dedicated to it that you need to bring binoculars to really see much of anything.”
I say...
While not as big as expected... & Cary Grant & Eva Marie Saint weren't hanging over the edge of it, it's still quite impressive. Go there at night, when they have a ceremony involving returned servicemen underneath the lit-up Presidents, before the lights are switched off for the day...
Empire State Building They say... “With its steep entrance fee, massive crowds and intensive security check, it’s hard to find much to love here. And when you actually get to the top, you can’t even see iconic sights like Central Park!”
I say...
Sure, you can't see Central Park, but that's what Top Of The Rock is for... & you can see a whole lot more of New York that, if you have the time, is worth exploring. We were there for a week & barely scratched the surface...
Sydney Opera House They say... a “dirty looking brown building that somehow always appears to photograph white”.
I say... how dare you!!
Sure, it's not always lit up for the ViVid Festival, but it's a bit of a stretch to say it's a dirty brown building... unless you're pressing your nose up against it... In which case - don't DO that!!
Here's a list of places that some travel writers find either underwhelming, over-crowded, or just plain over-rated
Can't say I agree with all of them, but I haven't been to all of them either... Perhaps Pink Halen can provide an eyewitness corroboration or contradiction - he's far better travelled than me... or anyone else I know!!
3 that I disagreed with:
Mt. Rushmore: They say... “The problem is that it is set very high in the hills, so far away from the viewing platform at the national park dedicated to it that you need to bring binoculars to really see much of anything.”
I say...
While not as big as expected... & Cary Grant & Eva Marie Saint weren't hanging over the edge of it, it's still quite impressive. Go there at night, when they have a ceremony involving returned servicemen underneath the lit-up Presidents, before the lights are switched off for the day...
Empire State Building They say... “With its steep entrance fee, massive crowds and intensive security check, it’s hard to find much to love here. And when you actually get to the top, you can’t even see iconic sights like Central Park!”
I say...
Sure, you can't see Central Park, but that's what Top Of The Rock is for... & you can see a whole lot more of New York that, if you have the time, is worth exploring. We were there for a week & barely scratched the surface...
Sydney Opera House They say... a “dirty looking brown building that somehow always appears to photograph white”.
I say... how dare you!!
Sure, it's not always lit up for the ViVid Festival, but it's a bit of a stretch to say it's a dirty brown building... unless you're pressing your nose up against it... In which case - don't DO that!!
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-07 11:14 pm (UTC)On my one visit to NYC, my friend and I aimed for the Empire State but because of the crowds we instead went to the equally fabulous but surprisingly unvisited Chrysler building. I'd still like to visit the Empire State building on some future visit.
After reading the horror stories about constructing your local opera house, I'd enjoy seeing it in person. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-09 07:01 am (UTC)The view from the Empire State is, as shown, pretty spectacular, but I recommend visiting 'Top of the Rock' - at the Rockefeller Centre - you get great views of downtown, with the Empire State Building front & centre...
Yes, the controversies surrounding the Opera House make you wonder how we didn't end up with just some grey boxy thing instead...
Travel
Date: 2018-09-08 12:18 am (UTC)I have been to the top of the Empire State Building but that was long before 911 and the insanity that goes with that. I think in was in 1968 when there were far less crowds.
The Opera house is very nice and the tour is worth while.
But the thing to do in Sydney is the Bridge Climb.
There aren't Twelve Apostles anymore. One fell into the sea. I thought the old name was much more interesting. It was the Sow and piggies.
We are loving our monuments to death. Everyone is flocking to see them and that has made them much less attractive. At Stonehenge you cannot wander among the stones.
A much better choice is the replica in Washington State above the Columbia River.
Niagara Falls can actually be all but turned off by diverting water to a power station. The better choice is Iguassu on the border between Brazil and Argentina.
We didn't have a good visit to the Taj Mahal because of fog. We couldn't see the building for 300 yards away at the entrance gate. The trick there is to go at first light when it opens. Perhaps the better chose would be a similar building in Samarkand.
Pisa just just a cluster F***. The most entertaining is watching people try to photograph each other using forced perspective.
The Colosseum was good because we used a "Skip the Line" tour guide but the Amphitheater at Pula Croatia is as spectacular.
Manikin Pis is surprisingly small as is the Little Mermaid.
The Pyramids are every bit as impressive as we are told but the souvenir sellers are horrible all over Egypt. But they are hungry people. After the Arab Spring tourism dropped 50% and hasn't come back. Fourteen Million to 7 Million makes a real difference.
Trevi fountain is nothing like in the movie "three coins in a fountain." You have to wait your turn to get next to the water. But I really enjoyed visiting Civitiveccia which has as many neat places and
The statue of Liberty is a fun thing to do. Be on the first boat in the morning and go directly to the climb. We managed to get half way up before the line stopped moving. We went in 1993. Things are probably a lot worse.
Still, there are lots of wonderful things to see. You just have to pick times in the off season or early in the morning to beat the crowd.
We are off again this Christmas for Australia cruising from Sydney to Singapore around the south side. We are getting close to having visited 80 countries.
Re: Travel
Date: 2018-09-09 06:55 am (UTC)Let us know when you get to town!!