A big disappointment......

Margaret Pilkington · 13-03-2005, 21:36

Today I was looking at some pictures of Ayers Rock....or as it is now called Uluru.
I made a visit to Uluru two years ago. It was something that I had looked forward to but I found it to be a big disappointment. I had seen pictures of this great geographical structure, and in all of them the sky is blue, the sun is shining and the Rock looks Majestic.
We were only at the National Park for two days and it rained on both days.
We had booked to see the sunset over the rock, well it was so dismal and gloomy that there was hardly any change at all except that it just went darker and darker.
The guide tried to cheer us up by telling us that we were in the elite 1% group who saw the Rock in the rain.........I have to say I was very disappointed.
Have any other members of accyweb looked forward to something and then been very disappointed???????

West Ender · 13-03-2005, 22:17

A bit like your experience, really, I flew out to Dahran in Saudi Arabia. My husband, who was already there, met me at the airport and we had to drive through the desert to Riyadh. I'd heard all the stories about the arid desert but the minute I arrived it started raining and the roads were flooded. It rained and was cold for the first 3 days I was there. After that, of course, the sun and the heat returned. I thought the desert would be all white sand and big dunes as in all the glamorous movies. It was flat, scrubby and the sand was a dirty, dusty orange colour.

garinda · 13-03-2005, 23:30

St Tropez in the late 70's.
Leaving behind Ossy and looking forward to some glamour, l imagined buying baguettes with Bardot, strolling along the Harbour nodding at Alain Delon, and sneaking out of the hotel to go to wild Discotheques.
It rained for four days, it was jam packed full of loud Americans, and Briggitte was only glimpsed from a boat trip, looking leathery, feeding her cats.
Apparently it's quite hip again, guess l missed the boat!

pendy · 14-03-2005, 13:13

Me too, in St Tropez, in about 1986. A friend lent me her villa for a fortnight. The first few days it absolutely p****d down, the mistral blew, and it was foul.

However, then it picked up, was gorgeously warm, even managed an evening on a yacht, looking at all the poor people trolling along the Port!

pendy · 14-03-2005, 13:15

My other REALLY big disappointment? - in the 50s my mother had a friend in the States who used to send loads of glossy magazines. There were 3 things advertised that I really wanted to try - Campbell's Tomato Rice Soup, V8 vegetable juice, and 7-up. Tried the first two when they eventually arrived over here - great! Still love V8.

However - having waited a year or two more for 7-up, I finally got my hot little paws on the coveted can - it was just weak lemonade! Ugh! Never got over it - I haven't trusted the Americans since!

Margaret Pilkington · 14-03-2005, 13:36

And another thing they don't really tell you about The Red Centre is that it is home to MILLIONS of flies! These are nothing like the house flies that we have here.......they land like camels and search out every orifice that is not covered. I managed to survive 24 hours before I bought a net contraption that goes over your head and keeps the flies off your face........very chic and glamourous in the photo's. Very difficult to eat chips through......you get so used to it that you forget you have it on.

Having said that if I were given half a chance to go back I would do it..... but I would check the weather forecast.

Margaret Pilkington · 14-03-2005, 13:38

Pendy......I tried 7-Up in Woolworths cafe in london in 1958......except I thought it was called ZUP...... mis-read the label.