Top 10… travel hates!

Accomodation

Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. have been to a few places that were rated by guidebooks or websites that were not as good as described.

Now tend to lump descriptions such as ‘Art Deco’, ‘Cosy’ and ‘Quaint’ into other categories – ‘In need of renovation’ or ‘Requires redecoration’.

Chuggers, lavender/selfie stick/sunglasses sellers, timeshare touts 

Usually have an avoidance mechanism that’s more nimble than a rugby player heading for the touchline in order to score a try.

Always amuses me when sunglasses sellers approach those already wearing sunglasses – either specs that have Transitions lenses (i.e. mine) or those wearing Ray Bans…

Coffee

How hard is it for accomodation to provide good coffee at breakfast time?

We’ve lost count of how many times we’ve had bad coffee at guest houses, hostels and hotels – even at U.S. based name chain hotels or five stars!

Mind you, a few cafes that have had business from us following bad coffee mornings, usually just after we’ve left our accommodation.

Duff information

Or when guidebooks get it wrong. We’d checked two guidebooks about the opening times  for a leading museum earlier in the year and both said that it was closed on a Monday.

It wasn’t, as we found out when we walked past it and found an open door and a full set of opening times that looked like it had been there for a while…

Fast track

We’ve found that this usually means you go a shorter way around into security to find that there’s a long queue at security because other passengers haven’t bothered to read the does and don’ts of what they can or can’t take in their hand luggage.

Note to self – stop booking Fast Track and use the money to get a coffee or a meal deal at either WH Smith or Boots when airside and in need of something to eat that doesn’t cost the earth at airport bars/cafes/restaurants or cost twice as much as it does on the plane.

Officialdom

Yes, it’s those jobsworths who are determined to put a spanner in the works when it comes to shopping, visiting a museum or wanting to put your bags in left luggage lockers.

Step forward that supermarket in Paphos and the museum in Belem who wanted me to deposit my day bag and the bloke who didn’t know what had happened to the luggage lockers, even when we were at the office that a sign on the wall had pointed us to!

Phone users

Yes, those irritating people who walk along the street glued to their phones who are oblivious to everything else that’s going on around them.

Blocking the pavement or other walkway is one irritation, trying to sent a text whilst pulling a wheelie bag along is another and then there’s those who insist on taking selfies or photograph their food before eating it.

One phone user did come unstuck earlier in the year whilst visiting the Alhambra in Granada. She was so intent on taking a photo whilst walking forward that she didn’t notice the step down.

Cue scream and a badly damaged/potentially broken ankle… Ouch!

Rain

It rained four days out of seven whilst on Isle of Man last week.

We’d gone prepared as we’d taken decent rain jackets, but it did put a dampener on proceedings. Had the same problem in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Portugal and Spain too!

Restaurant rip offs

Step forward the place in Cordoba that tried to charge us for bread, even though we hadn’t asked for a bread basket and hadn’t eaten anything from it.

Same place claimed that they weren’t doing tapas, even though there was a rather well done set of tiles outside with the word tapas at the centre.

Restaurant or tour touts

Those who try standing in front of you as a means of getting you into their cafe, restaurant or onto a tuk-tuk.

Answer is always ‘No’ and if they don’t take the hint then it’s ‘No, no, no, no, no and no!’.

Which really brassed off one bloke in Malaga in March this year.

We walked passed that establishment later on and there weren’t many in it.

Wonder why?