Autumn Sun… — Gladrags & Bags

I appreciate I start quite a few of my blogs with “We just got back from another adventure”…

And today is no different hahaha, so apologies for that. I do have an incredibly charmed life, I’m very aware of it and I’m incredibly grateful too.

We have just returned from our final holiday of the year, and it was so much fun.

I have a committee meeting in Athens in November, but this was our last holiday.

We went with our friends James and Tanya, it struck me the night before we went that we’d never holidayed with just the four of us. And I realised that actually I could holiday with any or all my close friends. So we must have been lucky enough to make friends with utterly lovely people. And again, I’m very grateful for that.

Unfortunately, all four of us had had the lurgy prior to going away.

I had a GP appointment the night before we flew as I wasn’t feeling well still and it had been dragging on.

So I ended up with an inhaler (I’m not usually a chest infection gal, my weak spot has always been ears and throat), and a prescription for antibiotics and steroids.

Like I said last week, this virus is to be avoided at all costs, it’s a monster.

While I was at the appointment I decided to have my flu shot too. I thought I might as well as I felt like crap anyway. So at least that’s done for the year.

Plus I was still in a lot of pain from the fall I had, plus plus my back was still in spasm.

All in all I really needed a holiday 😂

I looked a treat in my swimming cossi, all black and blue and struggling to walk.

Jumper from Holland Cooper, Trousers from M&S

I felt like death warmed before we went, and really I didn’t have high hopes for the holiday. But actually it was such a great time.

The weather forecast had been dreadful prior to our arrival, but as luck would have it it was sunny and warm apart from the final two days.

I don’t know how anyone else feels, but I struggle to want to dress well when I’m ill. All inclination and desire leaves my soul.

Which is weird, because through my cancer treatment I was determined not to get the sympathy glances and sideways head nods and sad faces, so I made sure to get dolled up, slapped more make up and looked the best I possibly could. I couldn’t bear the thought of looking ill.

I get a virus and I’m impressed if I even shower! Hahah

(Just to be clear, I did indeed shower, every day).

Our flight time was a pretty decent 11am, so we didn’t have that curse of the 2am start. I am so done with them.

In fact so much so that for the meeting in Athens in November which I’m attending I couldn’t face the 2am-er again so Chris very kindly treated me to a night in a hotel in Athens the day before I need to be there.

Athens is still a maze to me, I have a terrible sense of direction, so mostly if I go out and about alone, I’m relying on the kindness of strangers to point me in the right direction. But I’d rather be there a day early and mooch around by myself than get up in the middle of the night ever again.

We left early for Gatwick for our holiday, but at a reasonable 6.45am, not two.

Top, shoes and belt from Hermes, Trousers from M&S

Our room was stunning, I made a note of the room number as I’d like to have that room again if we rebook.

Ikos Odisia is in the most spectacular bay.

And being there, with our friends who we adore was so special.

I really am very lucky.

Tanya and James said they’d bring along to the holiday a gift they’d bought us for Christmas two years ago, but had managed to forget to hand it over every time we’ve met up ever since.

And I think we can all agree it was worth the wait! 🫣🤩😂

They’re so fabulous I think I need to order more in bulk. 😂🥰

The weather was so kind to us, surprisingly so. I feel like we got really lucky. October can be very variable.

I packed enough clothes to go on a six week holiday. Where did I think I was going? On a European grand tour like they did in the 1800s?

But I’d rather have too much than not enough. And I like choice when I wake up.

There are so many reasons to cover up and not wear a bikini. Society and social media bombard us with why we should hate our human form.

Too old, too fat, too this and too that.

Well, excuse my French here but fuck that!!!

I put a lot of hard work into surviving cancer, and the last, the very last thing I’m going to do is take any notice of the bullshittery that is coming at us at high speed about why we shouldn’t like ourselves.

I’m not saying I have a fabulous body, I’m saying I don’t care what other people think about it.

Other people’s opinion of me is none of my business. So I dress for me at all times. Including on a beach or by a pool.

*Trigger warning for those sensitive to weight matters.

I was (foolishly) reading the Mail online while I was on holiday. I saw an article about the new and improved updated version of the BMI test.

We mostly all know that BMI tests aren’t worth the paper they are written on. It fails in so many different areas. It lacks nuance and it’s a deeply flawed system. So I thought oh good, they’ve updated it to be a better version.

…well, the scream I let out! Did you hear it from there? I wouldn’t be surprised.

In the old BMI test I was classified as - overweight.

In the new BMI test I am now classified as obese!! O-fucking-bese!

So that’s nice. 🤔🫣😂

Hi, I’m Suzanne and I’m obese. 🤩

Forgive me while I don’t give a shit, and carry on enjoying my virgin pina colada…

I eat high quality food, with a focus on high fibre food, with the necessary amount of protein, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I walk daily for exercise.

I can’t do any more than that. So if I am now obese so be it.

I have been in some very dark places with hyper fixation on my weight over the years, since I was 15. I have no wish to go back to starving myself.

I am conscious about what I eat. I eat with intention and focus on good healthy foods. And I’m going to stick with that. I can’t get bogged down and depressed by the fact that I’m now classed as unhealthy.

I’m doing my best, I’m doing the best I’ve ever done with what I eat. It’s enough.

We are all enough. Remember that. 🫶🏼

Beach shirt from TK Maxx, Bikini from Hunza G, Shoes from Hermes

The weather held for the week, well, until right at the end. So we were able to get all dolled up for dinner most nights.

Dress from Maje, Shoes from Holland Cooper,

I started off strong, all excited to get dressed up for the evening meals, then the novelty does seem to wain come the end of the week.

Chris and I did something unusual for us - We moved a lot more than we usually do on holiday.

I don’t go to a gym or anything like that, I just do some dumbbell weights for muscle building, and walks day to day. But on holiday we don’t tend to do much apart from eat and sleep.

But this time I wanted to do something a bit different. So I actually packed fitness wear, and we walked. Hitting 10 thousand steps a day easily.

It did help that the Ikos Odisia resort in Dassia bay is huge, it’s beautifully designed, with all low level accommodation. But it is spread over a large area. So walking was inevitable really (That said, there were golf carts to shuttle people around, but we chose not to).

I packed the clothes for intentional walking, which was a first in itself. But we actually got up early and used them too.

I didn’t want to particularly, as my sleep has been horrendous lately. But I knew it was the right thing to do as we’d be eating so much.

Being up early means you get the most glorious start to the day.

I believe the walking helped keep my stoma output flowing freely, which doesn’t happen very often on holiday. Usually I’m half crippled with constipation by day 3, but I was far more comfortable this time.

Plus my whole diet has changed since the last time I went to an all inclusive resort.

I eat more fruit and vegetables now. I focus on fibre and water.

A lovely early morning walk, then back for a shower and a coating of factor 50, then breakfast.

Bikini from Tesco.

The kiwi fruit there were the biggest I’ve ever seen. I’m a huge kiwi fan, they have been proven to aid digestion and transit. And they taste delicious.

It’s best to eat the skin too. Now, I’m not totally keen on this idea. Chris eats them like an apple, skin and all. I’m not so sure about that, so I slice mine super thin, and it makes eating the skin far more manageable.

I just stuck to my usual breakfast that I’ve been having for the last two years of actively healthy eating, which is Greek yogurt, fruits, nuts, seeds and berries.

*If you eat blueberries and walnuts together it does something super good for your gut health, but I can’t remember the exact details. So you might want to google it. (God, I’m so helpful with healthy eating advice - follow me for more insightful information hahah).

We ate a lot on this holiday, but we ate far healthier than we used to.

Okay, so I am now officially obese, but my insides should be in far better condition than they used to be.

And I happen to like how I look. I know, shocking isn’t it! We’re conditioned from a young age to be insecure about it all, but I’m not.

I will wear a bikini - my body and bag on show. Not to show off, but to show I’m so happy to be here, and to get an all over tan (safely as possible covered in factor 50).

Contentment is incredibly rare and utterly precious and I am so grateful to feel this way.

The evenings were a little chilly, not freezing, but definitely cooler than usual.

I decided to wear this outfit. It’s cosy and cool, so it’s perfect for autumn sun holiday evenings.

As I approached the restaurant that night I started noticing other people dressed in white. And I thought that’s odd.

Until it dawned on me.

It was the White Party night. 🫣

Never in a million years would I dress for that. I can’t bear an evening solely based on a particular colour clothing. I find White Party nights a bit sad. It’s just not for me.

…yet here I was dressed for it. 🫣

I gave myself the ick.

Needless to say I did not attend the event.

Outfit from Me & Em, Shoes from Hermes

Luckily it was warm enough to be a bikini holiday.

Bikini from Hunza G, Beach shirt from Vilbrequin, as are Chris’s matching swimming shorts.

I bought this dress about 3 years ago in Primark in Spain. I have never worn it, even though it’s been on about 10 holidays with me since then. So I decided to at least wear it once before I sell it on Vinted.

Dress from Primark, Belt from Hermes, Shoes from Gucci.

Ikos hotels are really good. They’re a premium all inclusive resort. They really do think of everything, and take care of their guests very well.

Part of the package when you book your stay, on top of unlimited food (we make the most of this feature) and unlimited alcohol (all four of us are sober, and did not make use of this one), is a free day’s car hire.

I think it’s a way of trying to push some money through the wider economy and community.

Anyway, we decided that we’d go out and about on Monday.

We drove to a few other beach resorts to have a look round.

And then we went back to a restaurant in San Stefanos for lunch that we liked when we holidayed in the area in May.

The food was outstanding, although it’s always a shock to actually have to pay for it after a few days of zero bills.

Then we headed to the next bay along (Kerasia), that we stayed in in May, for dessert.

The taverna there does the best portokalopita I’ve ever had. I had been craving it since May.

When we used to visit this restaurant back in May I’d have the grilled prawns, lots and lots of them, day after day (I fell into this pattern in the Ikos this time too. I never eat grilled prawns in the uk, but apparently I have some sort of weird addiction to them in Corfu).

Anyway as we’d already had lunch, I ordered the orange cake and 0.0 beer.

The waiter (co owner) said ‘no problem’.

Then the other owner brought it over to me and said “oh! welcome back prawn lady!”

And the original owner said “oh yes!! It’s prawn lady, welcome back!”

So that’s nice to be popular and remembered 🤩😂

Funny thing is the waiter at the beach grill restaurant in the Ikos resort had also coined me prawn lady as well.

Just to be clear, I do not want this added to my epitaph when the time comes. 😂

Dress from Me & Em, Shoes from Hermes

We drove to Canal D’Amour, it’s not somewhere I’d like to holiday, but the rock formations are stunningly beautiful.

It was so nice to go back to our little bay from May, and to have orange cake.

The holiday was amazing. We ate, we drank 0.0 beers, we walked and were merry.

I appreciate that no one is going to be following my advice about food and lifestyle, due to the whole being obese thing. But I would like to really hammer home the importance of fibre.

Protein is great, it’s vital in fact, but fibre has the potential to save your life.

I dressed in this outfit as I had bought it back in July but hadn’t gotten round to wearing it.

As I walked out of our room I saw four other guests all dressed in black, and for one horrible moment I really thought I’d done it again and gone themed for a black party themed night…although as far as I’m aware this doesn’t actually exist…but why white parties exist is beyond me so who knows.

Jacket and trousers from M&S, Vest top from Intimissimi, Shoes from Hermes.

Thankfully it was just a coincidence to be all dressed in black.

We’d had a good run of good weather. Unexpectedly so.

But then the rains came…and they didn’t stop.

Top from Maje, Trousers from Ralph Lauren, Shoes from Jimmy Choo.

We just sat around eating and drinking (hot chocolate this time) and reading our books.

As it was the day before our last day I just took my time to pack carefully to make unpacking at home easier.

Top from N.Peal, Trousers from Ralph Lauren, Shoes Jimmy Choo.

The day we were leaving for home was also torrential rain, with added thunderstorms.

So we just chilled out and again, ate loads to take up a bit of time, until it was time to leave.

Tracksuit from River Island, Gilet from Me & Em, Shoes from Hermes

I find it very important to dress in comfortable loose clothing for flying. I flew in jeans when I went to Carcassonne a few weeks ago, and it does feel slightly dangerous to do so.

If I want the best chance of no problems with my stoma, loose is best.

All too soon it was time for home.

We had the most amazing time. All of us felt better for some sun on our bones. I think it helped clear up the chest infections and general virus load, and a bit of autumn sun is always a pleasure.

We got home late afternoon on Friday, and by the evening Chris wasn’t feeling well. And he then went down with a rather nasty stomach bug.

Fun fact about me ~ I have a phobia of vomit. So I’m afraid I wasn’t terribly helpful to Chris at this point.

It took everything I had not to insist he move out to a hotel! 😂

He slept 50 hours pretty much solid ~ In the spare room ~ locked away. I did take him drinks, but via a time lapse system of door opening. I take germ control very seriously.

Anyway, with him laid up I was able to get on and unpack and get all the holiday washing done. Not fun or exciting but much needed.

It’s the worst thing about holidays isn’t it.

I had planned to get my Halloween decorations up on the Saturday. We always do a display, but with Chris so poorly I felt this year we were going to have to sit it out.

I dressed in my housework clothes, ready to get some boring chores done.

But Chris woke up Sunday morning feeling so much better.

I made him scrambled eggs on sourdough toast and he perked right up.

So hallelujah Halloween was saved!! 🎃

Top from Gant, Jeggings from Tesco, Shoes from Hermes

Just a few little decorations for the festive season.

I put out a call to the wild to ask if anyone had an empty Jack Daniel’s bottle I could use for my cowboy display. And a very kind chap in the village popped round with an empty bottle of rum, that I have now filled with black tea, so that was perfect. And much appreciated.