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[Misc] Places in songs that you had a romantic view of before you saw the place in the flesh
- Thread starter Icy Gull
- Start date
Uter
Well-known member
My wife likes Keane and thus I've heard their song "Sovereign Light Café" a lot.
It's an actual café in Bexhill. It has a wonderfully romantic and evocative name so I thought it must be up there with the De La Warr pavilion in terms of architectural beauty.
This is the Sovereign Light Café:
I won't be visiting.
It's an actual café in Bexhill. It has a wonderfully romantic and evocative name so I thought it must be up there with the De La Warr pavilion in terms of architectural beauty.
This is the Sovereign Light Café:
I won't be visiting.
Lenny Rider
Well-known member
- Sep 15, 2010
- 6,010
Ditto, very disappointed when I eventually went there for my 50th.
Loads of beggars, 'Chinatown' was the worst I've been to globally , the only shining light, and a potential 'holiday saver' was Alcatraz, which is one of the best tourist excursions I've ever been on.
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
- Thread starter
- #85
Agreed about Alcatraz. I went there on the first trip of the day in November years ago, it was an overcast and dull day and there were only about 15 of us on the trip. Depressing but very atmospheric and a bit of a shock to this Southern softie.
Looked like an easy swim back to the mainland but I gather it’s not!
The Golden Gate Bridge also lived up to expectations for me
The tram ride around SF was shit, not helped by it breaking down. I felt like Michael Douglas in Breaking Down, more than Steve McQueen in Bullitt
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Braggfan
In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded
- May 12, 2014
- 1,982
In fairness, the song does kind of say that. It doesn't give it a romantic view.
jakarta
Well-known member
And that distance is from Sorrento, stunning views from there across the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius glowering behind. First went there 15 odd years ago and the Amalfi Coast started my Love Affair with Italy.
But yes the best thing about Naples in the road taking you to Sorrento.
rrruss
Wandering Seagull
I think all the girls from Ipanema had gone to Copacabana the day I was there!
Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
Agreed about Alcatraz. I went there on the first trip of the day in November years ago, it was an overcast and dull day and there were only about 15 of us on the trip. Depressing but very atmospheric and a bit of a shock to this Southern softie.
Looked like an easy swim back to the mainland but I gather it’s not!
The Golden Gate Bridge also lived up to expectations for me
The tram ride around SF was shit, not helped by it breaking down. I felt like Michael Douglas in Breaking Down, more than Steve McQueen in Bullitt
San Francisco bay is very cold, and there are treacherous currents around Alcatraz, which made it almost escape-proof. Mark Twain said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Candlestick Park, right on the bay, was notorious as the bleakest and coldest ballpark in Major League baseball, although hardier NFL fans didn't seem to mind it too much.
Several of the posts on here are quite dismissive of places based on a single trip as a tourist, and fair enough, you can have a bad or so-so experience as a one-off. I've had bad days in Brighton but still live here.
I've generally found that I like American cities more when I get to know them a bit, usually from working there and getting tips about places to see from locals, although I appreciate that not everyone is lucky enough to do that. And of course it depends where you're based. I've stayed in downtown LA, out near Pasadena and in Marina Del Ray, a short stroll from Venice Beach and you'd get a very different impression of the city from each of those places.
But to return to the OP, yes, I do know the way to San Jose, but I wouldn't bother. On the other hand, Boston and Chicago are far more interesting than the bands who were named after them.
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Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 31,262
I thought it was Tescos, not Glasgow?
Anyway, one place immediately springs to mind - Cairo, as in 'Nightboat to Cairo' by Madness.
The Egyptian Antiquities Museum is an oasis surrounding by shit, next to a bus station. The best 3 restaurants in the city are McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut. You can't go anywhere without blokes eyeing up your bird, stitching you up in a taxi, ripping you off at the pyramids or taking you on a guided tour via his brother's perfume / carpet shop.
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This is definitely true. I thought SF was OK the first time I was there but the second time I went, I stayed for a week and had a friend to show me round. She drove out into the surrounding countryside which gave me a whole new experience, particularly as it meant going over Golden Gate. I really like SF, it's definitely my fave US city.
pearl
Well-known member
atfc village
Well-known member
It's got an excellent Wellworth's shop . Other than that a high street of nothingness on a wet Monday afternoon in December
We all know the real reason the fella got a kick-in was because he was sat on a Tube train stinking the carriage out with a takeaway curry. No one likes that.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 17,351
Marrakesh - Marrakesh Express by Crosby Stills and Nash.
End of January last year. In many ways loved it, but in other ways found it intimidating and oppressive when walking round the streets in the old city.
But the staff in the Riyadh we were staying in, in all the cafes and restaurants we went to, drivers, guides and so on were great - lovely people.
End of January last year. In many ways loved it, but in other ways found it intimidating and oppressive when walking round the streets in the old city.
But the staff in the Riyadh we were staying in, in all the cafes and restaurants we went to, drivers, guides and so on were great - lovely people.