There’s a quote flying around the web that says: “Expectation is the root of all heartache”
It’s not proven if it’s in fact a quote by Shakespeare but that doesn’t concern me. Whoever said it hit the nail in the head.
We all expect something out of our travel plans. If we book a cruise with a high-rated cruising line we expect excellent service, world-class cuisine, and luxury accommodations. If we’re going on a backpacking trip we expect to see and do as much as possible and meet all kinds of interesting people. However, a rare few travelers have everything go well as planned. Some end up in unexpected circumstances and others in unexpected places.
It happened to me while cruising the Mediterranean sea. My wife and I flew to Rome in order to take the cruise ship from the port of Civitavecchia. We arrived a couple of days earlier to spend some time in Rome and see some of its main attractions. In our must-see-list we had St. Peter’s Basilica and the ever famous Sistine Chapel. I was really looking forward to seeing the Sistine Chapel, one of the greatest art treasures of all time, but when we finally made it through the colossal crowd and into the room I looked to the ceiling and did not find it as spectacular as I had imagined it would be. For some reason I expected it larger and more striking.
In contrast, when the ship docked in Tunisia, I wasn’t really looking forward to the city of Tunis. In fact, my wife and I had considered staying at the port due to some news about riots and kidnappings, but then decided to give it a chance, and boy was I surprised. What a magnificent and charismatic city, specially after venturing into Sidi Boud Said, with all the blue and white colors all over the town. The locals are very friendly and you can find very exotic souvenirs at every street corner. I simply fell in love with Tunis. It’s clear that I had set my expectations for the Sistine Chapel to high and for the city of Tunis too low.
While I could not change the fact that I had set the wrong expectations, I did have a choice of how to react to every situation. Take my advice and don’t let small things rankle you and ruin your mood. Make the conscious choice to recognize that your expectations were wrongly set and chose to make the most of your travel adventure. After all, just because I was not dazzled by the Sistine Chapel it does not mean that it’s anything less than a timeless work of art.
Over the course of time I have learned to always expect the unexpected and that there’s nothing that can ruin my travel plans, except myself. Rain or shine there’s an adventure to be had out of every vacation!
How do you deal with your travel expectations?
Just want to write to mention that I can completely relate to the feeling of disappointment due to too high of expectations. I loved St Peter’s Basilica, don’t get me wrong, but I felt much more moved when visiting the church in Asisi. I think it being so ornate was overwhelming to me while the church of St Francis was much more humbling of a feeling within. 🙂
Hmm, I think I know exactly what you mean Mia and I think I too prefer that humbling feeling over being overwhelmed. That’s why I’m very attracted to old rustic churches and lighthouses as supposed to cathedrals and basilicas. Yes, I totally agree with you. Thank you kindly for your comment.
Funny, my post today is all about wanting a do-over in Paris because of the disappointment I experienced thanks to high expectations. It was the first time I’d ever walked into a place with expectations through the roof and walked away feeling like I’d been gypped. I’ve learned to adjust my expectations since then, but it’s really hard not to build something up in your mind and to get so excited about a new place!
Hi Megan, thanks for your comment. You’re absolutely right. It’s very difficult not expect a great experience, specially if it’s a place you’ve been wanting to visit for a very long time. But as difficult as it may be, we have to at least try and like you did adjust our expectations. I feel as if it’s something that we always have to keep in check. I have not been to Paris or France but it’s a place I do want to see. Hopefully I can adjust my expectations before visiting so that what happened to you doesn’t happen to me, but we’ll see if I can do it. I have received mixed reviews lately, however, of Paris. I look forward to reading your post today. I’m very interested to read what happened.
Cheers!