I’ve traveled to dozens of countries, but it’s easy to surprise me when traveling.
I enjoy the little things and know how to find beauty in simple things. But sometimes my expectations from popular places do not coincide with reality. In the advertising booklet they look the same way, but in real life they look completely different. It’s frustrating.
The Trevi Fountain in Rome and the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
In Rome and the Vatican, you can make a whole list of attractions that have disappointed thousands of tourists. Usually the reason for their discontent is a huge number of people and the heat.
I dreamed of seeing the Sistine Chapel — the hall where the Pope is chosen. The ceiling of the chapel was painted by Michelangelo.
I bought tickets on the website and did not stand in a kilometer-long queue. There were a lot of people inside and it was stuffy — periodically I could smell sweat. Security guards were walking all over the hall and shouting for everyone to keep quiet and not take pictures. These are the harshest and scariest guards I’ve ever met. In my opinion, it is impossible to feel the atmosphere of this beautiful place because of them and the crowds of people. It is better to look at the chapel on the Internet on the Vatican website.
Another popular place in Rome that upset me is the Trevi Fountain. The fountain itself is grandiose, but it is absolutely impossible to enjoy it because of the thousands of tourists nearby. At one time they came there just to eat: they took a snack and settled down somewhere near the fountain. I got there just during this period and could not get even half a meter closer to Trevi: there were noisy youth companies everywhere, everyone was eating, drinking, smoking and throwing coins to return.
My dream is to see the fountain again: to come there early in the morning and just sit alone.
Pamukkale in Turkey
Pamukkale is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Turkey. They go there for travertine terraces with clear turquoise water. They are protected by UNESCO.
Upon arrival in Pamukkale, tourists will be disappointed: only part of the terraces is filled with water. It is possible to consider them properly only from one point, which is located at a distance from the main route. All travelers go in the other direction — along the pools created artificially. They are certainly beautiful, but they bear little resemblance to what tourists have seen in advertising booklets. It can be dangerous to be there: they are not allowed to go to the pools in shoes, and it is easy to slip there.
Another problem is hundreds of tourists. Pamukkale resembles a huge Instagram zone: everyone is photographed against the background of everything. The chance to take a picture without tourists will appear if you reach the end of the route — about 300-400 meters. But this option is available only to strong-minded Jedi: it is impossible to stay there for a long time in the heat.
There is a Cleopatra pool on the territory of the park. Nothing connects him with the Egyptian queen: the name is just a marketing trick that the Turks came up with. There’s nothing special about the pool: it’s cute, but small and very hot. The water temperature in the season is +35 °C. Swimming in it is a dubious pleasure when the air warms up to +40 ° C. The ticket is unreasonably expensive for such a small pool — $ 14.
It seems to me that it is better to visit Pammukale in November or December, when there are few tourists in Turkey.
“Pissing boy” in Brussels
I was in Belgium six years ago and wanted to see the famous statue of the “Pissing Boy”. I have not read reviews about the attraction. It was not easy to find the statue even with a map — I had to ask a few questions to passers-by. When I got to the attraction, I was very surprised.
I assumed that the “Pissing Boy” is a standard sculpture taller than 1-1.5 meters. In fact, it turned out that the statue was the size of a one-year-old child. It does not look impressive: water pours into the fountain bowl through a tube, which is somehow fixed behind the sculpture’s back and is not even disguised.