I am going to Rhodes, Greece for like, ten days. I have never been to Greece before and unlike Spain, and obviously Australia, the two other places I’ve been- I cannot speak a single word of Greek. I did try to learn a little on Duolingo, but it’s not nearly enough to get me by. I’m taking Mother with me, which shall be fun.
Packing List
I’m taking with me:
• The outfit I’m travelling in (the black and white linen outfit, white socks, and a white cami)
• 3 pairs of sandals
• 8 pairs of shorts
• 3 long sleeve linen shirts
• 2 short sleeve linen tops
• 11 camis (black, white & green)
• 10 pairs of underwear
• 1 t-shirt
• All toiletries pictured
• Laptop & charger
• Phone & charger
• Portable charger
• AirPods & EarPods
• Medication
• European power brick
• Notebook & pen (not pictured)
• Colouring book & pens (not pictured)
• A spare black and blue pen
• 2 quick dry towels
• 2 books
Itinerary (10 Nights)
Day One
Did I have two panic attacks before the plane even took off? Yes. Which is odd to me. As of writing this, I’ve been on FIFTEEN planes in the last few years. Sixteen if we’re counting the plane back home too- and I’ve never once had a panic attack. Not on a 2 hour flight, a 7 hour flight or an 11 hour flight. Not when flying over mountains or oceans. But this time? Felt different.
The first picture was taken in the uber to the airport, when I felt scared, but pretty decent. I ate my lunch at an airport restaurant, and found my gate… which was when the first of the panic attacks happened. The TUI staff were wonderful though, offered for me to get in either first or last, which I chose last. Even offered for me to talk to the captain, which I declined. The second panic attack happened on the plane, as we were going to the runway.
All I was doing was (very loudly) singing AJR songs, probably annoying everyone around me. But once I was in the air, I was, for the most part, okay.
And I was definitely okay when I found The Big Bang Theory on the in-flight entertainment thing. it’s been one of my comfort shows as of late, and watching it made me feel like I was right back home. I had coke on the plane and it was during turbulence so there I was holding my can and my little paper cup for dear life like either of those could save me.
We landed, after the worst landing I’ve ever witnessed. Everyone.. no, I mean EVERYONE clapped when we landed. Not me though. I was.. let’s just say, not feeling the best. That’s all I’ll say on the matter. We then had about an hour long coach ride to the hotel, and just like the place in Spain, my hotel was the last stop.
I really wasn’t feeling too fantastic, so my apologies for the terrible room tour, and the lack of bathroom photos. did come with complimentary drinks, with the ones in the fridge getting replenished daily, even though on the website it said every 3 days but they just did it daily without me asking or anything.
When I checked in, the receptionist gave me a very dry sandwich and a peach, which was very kind. There was a weird phone thing above the toilet and I have no idea what it’s for. Also took a picture of the absurd amount of toiletries I brought with me, I don’t know why I had so many to be honest.
Day Two
I had the strangest breakfast this morning- just piled all sorts onto my plate, haha! And then I lounged by the pool for a while. It was cold though (about 20°C) so I wore long pants all day. I did some colouring when the some came out a bit more, and then at some point in the morning I took an elevator selfie.
I took some photos of lunch as well as the food they have. A lot of it looks better than it tastes. For lunch I had a big pepper thing, I love spicy food but this pepper wasn’t very spicy at all. I had some chips and pasta and rock hard pizza (yuck!) and randomly, some watermelon.
This is a stray cat that hangs around outside the hotel. I have called him Waffle. Waffle is the best part of my holiday and is a very lovely boy indeed. People bring him treats and feed him biscuits and every time he sees me he comes running up to me!
That afternoon I sat on my balcony with my Powerade and my book that I’m writing and I got a few pages written in my notebook. Then, while still sat on my balcony, I could see the sea was quite close, so I took a walk down there at sunset to a very small beach where I took a few pictures, we all know how much I love sunsets.
Towards the end of the day, I went for dinner where I got noodles and spring rolls and some vegetables and some very chewy chicken things which were gross. I also found prawn crackers, which, you guessed it, were also gross. Anyone who knows me (hopefully) knows I am not at all a fussy eater. I love bland foods, spicy foods, sweet and soapy foods, most fruits and vegetables and everything in-between, but the food here tastes…. stale. On my way to get pudding, I saw a cute sushi thing and for dessert I got ice cream and other chocolate things. Lastly I had to go and say goodnight to Waffle, obviously.
Day Three
For breakfast I had a cookie and a donut while sat by the pool, shortly followed by lemonade (as the coke here is… yup! gross!) as I wrote some of my book. My lunch was the blandest food ever but it was hot out, so I didn’t have much appetite. After lunch I went on a very busy bus to Old town where I went to see the boats and mother took a photo of me, maybe for my wall back home one day.
That evening I got some snacks and an Ince cream that I remember eating as a kid. I sat on my balcony and ate it before writing some of my book. For dinner I had…everything- including a lot of jalapeños that I found, I did bury a few of them with a pasta thing. then I had more ice cream for dessert, as well as mouse and chocolate cake.
Day Four
I felt unwell when I woke up this morning so I missed breakfast altogether. I went straight down to the pool where I sunbathed and chilled out until I had a late lunch. And then I spent half an hour or so with Waffles. He climbed onto my knee so I was even able to take a selfie with him! That afternoon I was writing this very blog and I had ice cream in the evening. Obviously.
Day Five
Most days get pretty repetitive- I would eat, lounge in the sun, spend a lot of time with Waffle, eat more and then sleep. I did take my book that I am writing out to the pool most days but this holiday I didn’t get much writing done. Unlike last year, this year I have done more writing balanced out through the whole year that by the time I got to my holiday, I was a bit burnt out from writing.
Day Six
I forgot to take a photo of both breakfast and dinner today, but for lunch I had a little bit of everything. I did have a heap of jalapeños for two out of three meals everyday and I just ate them like they were… grapes or something. When the sun had gone behind the buildings and I could no longer sunbathe, I went up to my room, where I sat on my balcony and drank some local brand of lemonade and did some novel writing while I watched Criminal Minds.
Day Seven
Today I had my usual breakfast, before going outside to give Waffle his morning pets. Then once the sun had come out, at about 10am, I sat out by the pool, drinking more lemonade until lunch, where I had a burger (that was very cold and undercooked so I didn’t eat much of it) as well as my usual stuff too. I took a selfie when the sun had gone in a bit and the wind had picked up, hence my hair, haha! Then before dinner I did some more of my novel on my balcony, making the most of the sun as it was forecast the rain the last few days of my trip. The local cola they do is gross so I went to a supermarket where I got actual Coca Cola which was much better!
Day Eight
Ah yes, what a normal breakfast indeed of watermelon, paired with onion rings, haha! Anyway, after breakfast I went out to give Waffle his breakfast- some treats I got from the supermarket. he loved them so much he let me take a selfie with him. After that I spent pretty much a full day lounging by the pool listing to true crime podcasts, with lunch and dinner pretty much looking the same. The food here isn’t the best, chat. Really not a fan.
Day Nine
Today was going to be the last sunny day of my trip, so I made sure to hurry up and eat my many mushrooms and onion rings to make the most of the last bit of sun. I love how my legs got progressively more tanned in each photo, haha. And yes, my chest and shoulders were a little burnt… Whoops! Then, the clouds had started their approach, so it was time to say goodbye to the sun and have lunch- where I then went up to my room to write my novel and watch Daz Games on YouTube before dinner.
Day Ten
This morning after my morning onion rings I went to spend time with Waffle, as it had only just hit me that I would never see him again after tomorrow. It felt quite warm out so I had assumed that perhaps the weather app had gotten the forecast wrong today and that it would in fact, not rain. Spoiler: It rained. Oh how it rained. More about that later though. For now, let’s all appreciate that Waffle took three selfies with me this morning!
I decided to actually venture out of the hotel and explore the old and new towns. Oh how I regret that. I got the bus where I took some cool photos and then once in new town, I went to the McDonalds to wash my hands and came across a quirky hand dryer that I had never seen before. I don’t know why I found it so fascinating but, here it is.
Even found a place to get bubble tea! And befriended another stray cat, who I called Callie the Calico Cat. Then I went back to McDonalds where I decided to sit outside with my lunch… LOL! First one drop, then two, then… a million. Followed by thundering and lightning and an absolute downpour. I ran inside where, at the door were many other people, ironically mostly brits, too scared to take their chances in the storm. All that was left of my meal was one soggy nugget in a puddle.
Oh, also, I trusted that the weather app would be so wrong that I wore rubber slides. Hahahaha. I will spare you all the photo and video I took of the squelching puddle in my shoe but I ended up having to walk all the way to the bus depot barefooted- only to find out the bus I needed didn’t even go to that stop! I gave up and went to get a taxi, where the queue, as you all can see, was LONG. Waited well over an hour where I finally got a ride back to my hotel where I showered and slept and then ate dinner.
Day Eleven
Today was a really weird day. But for now please enjoy the many pictures of Waffle. The last photo above was one my mums took of waffle so she could send it to her cat-obsessed coworker. That picture brings me so much peace every time I look at it. I gave him the last of his treats as I wanted to save some for the other stray cats that I was going to see while out and about today.
I had started noticing, about halfway into my trip, that people were leaving, but no one new was arriving. So day by day the hotel was getting emptier and emptier. Until the last day, where it was literally… just me and my mum. My mum, being as curious as she is, asked the front desk, who informed us that today was the hotels last day for SIX MONTHS! We were literally the LAST two guests of the year.
I walked downstairs, the games room was packed away, but I still managed to play some checkers and ping pong! And then I just sat in the eeriest, quietest hotel I had ever been in. The staff were all there, just for us. They did end up changing out of their uniforms for the most part though, and we had many good conversations with them. Before heading out I had some lunch, surprised that they had still laid out a full buffet for just us.
Then I went into Rhodes town where I saw two cute cats who I have the rest of Waffle’s treats to. Then I did some sightseeing where my mum was insistent on taking some photos of me. The first one? I don’t mind so much. The second one, however? Gosh I hate it. If I needed any motivation to not only dress different but to look different by the next summer, this photo is that motivation. I do not feel comfortable about any of it. the outfit included. It’s not me.
After that I saw another orange cat- I don’t think he was the same orange cat that I saw when I fist came into town as this one was much smaller and fluffier, and by this point I had walked quite a distance. There is simply just so many stray cats. Then I took a photo of an archway with som mountains in the distance before I stumbled across a feud of kittens! they were so small. I took a photo of one that came up close but they were all very timid. Some were older and mama cat was also there with them too.
After my adventure outside I came back to the hotel where I worked on this very blog post until dinner, where there were 5 waiters with one singular table dressed up for me and my mum! They again, still had set up a whole buffet, similar to lunch, for just us, yes, with totally different food than what was served at lunch. After that I went outside for some fresh air and to wait for my coach.
About ten or so minutes before the coach arrived I decided to use the bathroom before my hour long coach ride and as I walked up the steps to the hotel entrance, Waffle, for the first time, walked up to the entrance with me. I think he could sense that it was almost my time to leave. Usually when I go out to pet him, he sits on the seats outside and down the steps- never following me or waiting for me. When I came out of the bathroom and back to the main doors… there he was… waiting right at the door for me!
I sat on the marble area outside, where all the staff- the receptionist, waiters, chef and even the manager all huddled around my mum in awe. My mum being the one who took that photo of me, looking the happiest I had looked all holiday. I had such a scary landing coming into Rhodes that the flight back was all I thought about for the entire trip. But when my mum sent me that picture I thought “If I die on the plane at least I’ll die happy, as THAT was my last memory”. Just a girl and her holiday sweetheart- Waffle the stray cat. I set it as my phone wallpaper and it did help me feel calm on the plane.
I took one last selfie of us before my coach pulled up. We all had to peel Waffle off me as the driver came out to get our cases. Then, being the first on the coach before the driver went to more hotels, I sat on the very front seat and watched Waffle’s sad and confused face getting smaller and smaller as I drove away, never to see him again. Actually crying again, writing this.
My flight was at 1:10am, so the airport, much like the hotel, was empty. I checked in, dropped off my suitcase, and went through duty free to get some water to take my concoction of pills with. Some pain killers for my tiredness-induced headache, two travel sickness pills (absolute lifesaver), my antipsychotic medication and some of an old antipsychotic I used to take, called Quetiapine, which a woman said can help ease the anxiety… And it did.
The gate doors opened where we were met with, not a plane, but a shuttle bus. The amount of people the allowed to be crammed onto that little bus was INSANE. To then only go FIVE seconds down the runway thing. Trust me. I counted. Then we were off. I was hesitant to eat, thanks to the Great Puking Chronicles Of Landing in Greece 2026. But I had a sandwich and I didn’t puke it up! I knew I’d have to eat something, I hadn’t eaten since dinner that evening, and even then I didn’t eat much as I had the beady eyes of 5 very bored waiters staring at me, waiting for me to finish eating to SWOOP my plate away. And I knew I was going to arrive home at about 5 in the morning on no sleep, with no food in my house.
I have now been on 16 planes in the past 4 years. Doing some math- that’s, averaged out:
• 4 planes a year, for four years = 16 planes
• A plane journey every 3 months since 2022
• A plane journey every 90 days for the past, almost, half a decade.
And I have only thrown-up on two of them, with the first being my own fault, back in 2023, in forgetting to take my travel sickness pill, and the fact my ELEVEN HOUR flight was in a storm. Oh, the turbulence.
Review & Conclusion
Now I need to discuss the elephant in the room- what made me hate this trip so much? For a lot of it, it was the toilet situation. Now I don’t know if it’s just me, but I didn’t know, before arriving to Greece, that you can’t flush toilet paper down the toilet. None at all. Not even a square. Maybe that’s coming from a place of entitled ignorance on my part, and I’m willing to hold my hands up to that. I want to see countries and understand how they live. From my research it has something to do with the drainage system- with the pipes being roughly the dimension of a hosepipe.
Which meant the toilet paper, no matter what’s on it, goes in the bathroom bin. No separate bin for that sort of waste, no little baggies to put tissues in- nothing. And also from my research I learnt that, from what I read, all this tissue just goes to landfill? It is put into your normal house bins, and collected with the rest of the rubbish like crisp packets and broken toys. As someone who’s OCD diagnosed, specifically the contamination/germ kind, the whole putting my toilet paper in a public bin with other peoples poo-covered tissues, was horrifying.
You know like how in places like UK, and I think I’ve seen them in Australia, you have those feminine hygiene bins? where you put the item on the top bit and when it closed it goes in, so you can’t see or touch any of its contents? These bins aren’t like that, just your average waste paper bin, lined with a clear bag- some had lids, some were just open. So, I didn’t mind using my toilet in my hotel, but after I used a public toilet on my first outing and the bin was overflowing with… well, you can imagine, I swore to never do that again, which confided me to the hotel for the majority of the rest of my trip.
But the hotel? It was… fine. It really was nothing to write home about. The food was a… 3 out of 10, and I am not a fussy eater- ask anyone who knows me in my real life and they will say that I would literally eat anything. But it wasn’t the TYPE of food that was the problem, but the state of the food… cold, undercooked, overcooked, bland, repetitive… Chicken that was so chewy that by the time I had chewed through one piece, my mum had finished her whole meal- no joke. They had no brand label drinks, and they all tasted like the Aldi versions of my favourite pop.
It was clean, it was quiet (though I don’t think I have the right to comment on that as people were disappearing through the week as it was the end of season). There were not enough sun beds for the amount of rooms that there were, people who come in the summer have had to fight for them, putting towels out to reserve them before breakfast, according to the reviews. But you don’t get the sun for very long before it goes behind one of the many tall “government buildings” surrounding the hotel, according to the maps. Maybe from 10am to 2:30pm?
Would I come here again? Sadly, no. Greece is not for me. I found little things through the week that reminded me of home (Waffle, for one example), as that’s where I wanted to be. Home. I have never really known where that is, not for a long time, but I know it isn’t here. This trip taught me a lot about my fashion, and how I miss my one bag travel with that Pact backpack I’d take everywhere. I missed my simple wardrobe where everything went with everything, once I get home, I shall see what I can do about that.
Thank you for reading, especially if you made it this far. The days were pretty repetitive, as well as the food. So I do apologise it was pretty boring. I shall see you in my next post, toodles! xx
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