5 Cities That Deserve a Second Chance

I have a lot of shoulda, coulda, woulda's for our time in Europe. Seems pretty normal for any avid traveler or expat to have that ever-growing bucket list...as well as a list of places you wish you would have never visited in the first place. I like to refer to that list as my "never again" list. It's ok to have a list like that! Not everyone will love every single destination they visit. Flying home on our last transatlantic flight from Germany to Florida, D and I talked about all those places we wanted to visit but never made it to...about destinations we made it to, but didn't love...and those places we absolutely never ever wanted to see again. Happily, there were none on my "never again" list, or at least, I've changed my mind since having time to reflect on those places. Today, I've shared that list with you and I've affectionately labeled these 5 cities as those that deserve a do-over. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? If you've visited any of the places below and loved them, let me know what you loved about them so when I get the chance to have those do-overs, I'll look forward to better experiences!

(The list below is purely based off of my experiences in each city over 3 years living & traveling abroad. These are my opinions and literally have nothing to do with the general consensus of traveler reviews. So, basically, read ahead and go to these places anyway.)

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I wanted to fall in love with Amsterdam so badly, but alas, it just didn't happen. Why? Well, there are a few reasons. We literally only had one day here. That seems to be a reason why many of these destinations made my do-over list, but nevertheless...with such a short amount of time to stuff in loads of iconic sights, we couldn't handle the pressure. Amsterdam also proved to be difficult to navigate. It's still the only city in Europe that D and I have ever gotten seriously lost in. The place is like a labyrinth of canals and row houses. It all looks the same after you've wandered around for hours. Couple that with bicycles zooming past you constantly and trying to get places quickly because of limited time, well...we had the perfect recipe for vacation disaster. I remember coming back to the hotel that night and telling D how disappointed I was with the whole darn day. Yet, everyone who visits seems to love Amsterdam. I want that same feeling! This city is my #1 do-over dream.

Rome, Italy

Rome, I truly liked Rome (what I remember of it, at least)! But again, we had a hurried visit there. One absolutely cannot do Rome in a day (it wasn't built in one, after all). Sure, Rome is a bit dirty and run down to the eye, but it's chock full of history and ruins...it's old, but for good reason. That being said, we spent our one and only day in Rome on a guided tour with 8 of our closest family members, the majority of whom had never ventured to Europe before. STRESS-FUL. Our guide was awesome and got us to every sight we wanted to see in 10 quick hours (except the Spanish Steps, wah wah), but she talked A LOT...I needed less talk, more aimless wandering. Hard to have the best of both worlds in one day, I know. Additionally, while the Vatican is a must-see, we spent way too much of our time there (for my taste, at least). I also felt compelled to keep checking on my family, making sure they were all having a swell time and not getting lost in the Roma tourist crowds (I'm a people pleaser, even on my own vacation). So, between rushing, death by history lesson, and people pleasing, I felt like Rome was a total blur. Re-do destination #2, and rightly so.

Florence, Italy

The Duomo in Florence is super cool. The views from the top after you climb the, oh, 450+ stairs, is worth the workout. The rest of Florence to me was...ehhhh...not memorable. This was one of those cities I had super high expectations for because of one reason...study abroad students. They RAVE about Florence being such a dreamy place. Good food, great history, gorgeousness nestled in the Tuscan countryside...YES. Florence has all that, but it still left a lot to be desired in my mind. True, I had my 8 feisty family members in tow on our visit here as well, but even so, I wasn't blown away. Still, though, I feel like I need to give it one more chance. Maybe a long weekend away there with D would have shined a more romantic light on Florence. Who knows? One thing I know for sure...the Uffizi Gallery is boring as crap, unless you like that sort of thing. I'll be sure to skip it on my next go-round for sure.

Helsinki, Finland

I've mentioned this a time or two before, but the Baltic cities I've visited in Europe didn't wow me as much as I'd hoped. Stockholm and Tallinn, Estonia being the two exceptions (out of the very small handful I was fortunate enough to see). Helsinki, well, I know I liked the beer there. And the Rock Church. And of course, this gorgeous white cathedral. But I remember getting back on the cruise ship early because we'd simply run out of things to do there. In this case, one day was enough? I hate thinking that, because Helsinki sounds cool. They eat reindeer after all (it's pretty tasty, mind you)! We had a nice time there and liked what we did see. Maybe our flippancy towards Helsinki was due to lack of research (although I had my trusty Google Map itinerary)...or maybe there really isn't a whole heck of a lot to see, I couldn't confidently say. Either way, I'd like to give Helsinki another try. Maybe next time with a local guide who knows a thing or two about the city and could show us all the things that seemed to hide from us during our visit. 

St. Petersburg, Russia

If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, then you know the story of our time in St. Petersburg. Again, I wanted to be wowed by Russia. RUSSIA! I couldn't believe we'd made it to Russia. But Russia looked like every other European city I'd seen...except for the Church on Spilled Blood. That screamed Russia to me. I'm still not sure what that even means, but I do know I was disappointed after our time there (minus the midnight sunset...that was a true highlight). I really, really need another St. Petersburg visit. One that's NOT on a tour with 30 old people who complained about bathroom stops and aching feet. Next time, private tour guide and a much longer stay. I'm positive there's more to love in St. Pete than we saw, we just experienced it the wrong way. Hey, when you have the opportunity placed in front of you, you take it...even if it isn't the ideal way to travel there. At least I can say I've seen it. Looking forward to the day when I can say I LOVED it. It could happen.

What cities are on your list to "re-do?" 

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