Ah travel, it forces you out of your comfort zone into something different where you have not choice but to adapt and just enjoy it or let it negatively temper your experience because you just….can’t. Oddly, as picky as an eater as I am, when I travel all bets are off as soon as I get to the airport. I become this go with the flow person the SO just didn’t recognize. Can’t tell you how many times I heard “who are you?” while we toured the world. Sometimes we can surprise not only ourselves, but others as well.

I bring this up as I’ve made it clear I need a morning caffeine fix yet I have eschewed coffee because I just could not acquire a taste for it. No matter how much cream, sugar or whatever else was on offer I could add to it. There was always this bitter after taste on the backend I just could not get past. In the end it always drove me to soda, and please no lectures, I know it is bad, but at this point my life I have give up so many other vices, I’m keeping this one. At least I only do diet (again, no lectures please!). And while I have gone through variations of Coke and Pepsi, in my college years I landed on Mountain Dew because it did not have the cola taste to it which can sometimes be awfully close to coffee like. Plus, back then, Dew did have the most caffeine, though it seems to have been bypassed by other offerings in the last 10 years or so I, strangely enough, like the taste. I know, I’m odd, but did you know one of the base ingredients in it is orange juice concentrate? Yeah, most don’t because it is green yellow in color people assume lemon or lime, but no, it is orange.

I find it light and refreshing in that citrusy way. It is both energizing and cooling. A real kick start for me on rough mornings. Problem is, majority of foreign countries either don’t sell it in any form or if they do, it is only the non diet version, which just has way too much sugar. I’m just in it for the caffeine, not the sugar. I can eat a donut or two or three for that. Because of this I usually had to resort to Coke Light or Pepsi Light depending on which brand had bought off the country I was in. Wasn’t optimal but what was I gonna do? I went with the flow accepted my fate. Imagine my surprise then when I hit Greece.

It was my first morning and and I was at the corner store kiosk to find my soda fix when I saw the above and let out a big sigh thinking, “well, they have Dew but looks like it is the non-diet version.” But you know, jet lag and all I was still a little blurry while I stared longingly at the green bottle with my veins jonesing for its day glow liquid. I think I stood there looking at the bottle for several minutes and was sure the attendant thought I was trying to figure out a way to steal one. I am suspicious looking after all. Then my brain seemed to kick in to the time zone and I saw the word calories preceded by the word no and the little 2kcal on the label. Wait? Could it be? Did my eyes deceive? Is this really what I see, hope and wish for at 8am on an Athens morning? I pick up the bottle and sure enough this is a no sugar Dew with 2 kilocalories (foreign country version of calorie). Suddenly my world is all sunshine, rainbows and puppies! I’m giddy with emotion and haven’t even had one yet!

Yes, I bought three. They were about $1 each with exchange rate. I was okay with that. I plop down my Euros and crack open one right there and let the liquid yellow gold ooze its way over my tongue and down my throat. Ah, the sparkly kick of carbonation and…..hmmm, well, it doesn’t exactly taste like what you get in the states and I’m gonna chalk it up to them using a different kind of sweetener here. Something which isn’t sucralose or Splenda, though not sure what and honestly, didn’t care. This was close enough to satisfy my taste buds and my brain. It put a sparkle in my step and definitely helped relax me into my first solo international trip in a few years knowing I’d be able to find this across Greece, which I was able to do.

Turns out this version of Diet Dew seems to have now made its way to the US as Zero Sugar Mtn. Dew. It is flavored with different artificial sweeteners than the diet version in an effort to get to taste more like non-diet Dew. Kind of like what they have done with Coke and Pepsi Zero. For me it isn’t quite like the original and unless they discontinue diet, can’t say I will be switching over. But if it all they will be offering on my next trip abroad (whenever that will be!) I will gladly drink and be okay with it because I’m on vacation and going with the day glow flow of it. Soda wasn’t my only indulgence either.

I think I’ve made no bones about being a wine drinker. Beer is all right but I am not the biggest fan of hops and some beers are loaded with giving me bitter aftertaste of wet bread, not in a good way. Yet I’m willing to change things up now and then particularly when it comes to beers with added flavors like orange, sour cherry or in the case of beer in Greece, lemon.

Adding some kind of sparkly citrus soda to beer is nothing new. Me and the SO have been doing it on sailing boats for years, but in Europe it is really a thing. They are called shandies or radlers and I can get on board with them because sometimes foods just seem to dictate having a beer instead of wine sometimes, like pizza. Which is where I had the above. The alcohol content is low, a good thing, and the lemon flavor is amped up to compliment the beer without overpowering it.

I was able to come across several varieties across the country and with on 2% alcohol content I could slam back a few while hanging out in cafes along various waterfronts. There was even the one above labeled as an apple ale though taste wise, it seemed like a cider than a beer. Not to mention a high sugar content which also makes the radlers a better fit for me as they are not really sweet either.

Though I did not totally forgo trying some local brews and a few of them, like the above, were actually kind of light in flavor and hops plus the carbonation in them was pumped up making them more refreshing without being heavy.

Of course some of the beers were very beer tasting like the Fix Hellas (great name) but on this day it was hot and the beer was cold and I felt it paired really well with my favorite Greek food some spinach and cheese pie from a random corner bakery I came across down and alley somewhere on the island of Rhodes. Travel heaven—-an off the beaten path food find and a tasty snack and drink.

But make no mistake, wine is still my go to and not only was there a plethora across the islands, it was also pretty much $3 Euro a glass no matter where I went. And while there were specific winery upgrades to be had the basic choices were always red, white or rose and in honestly, the house brands were not bad.

The white wasn’t too dry or buttery and was somewhere between a sauvignon blanc and a chablis. The rose was also a big winner as it wasn’t sweet or dry but the flavor of most all I had reminded me of strawberry jam, in a good way. Not like some Boone’s Farm jug wine. And yes I had one of each at the same restaurant as I repeat my mantra, “I’m on vacation.”

The rose definitely came in handy because I did spend about five days on a cruise around the Greek Isles and we were given one of those plastic cards to order drinks and stuff with, like a credit card on a boat. The good thing, or possibly bad thing, was it was unlimited drinks! And that included the wine! To say I drank my weight in rose will cruising the Mediterranean would be an understatement. Then again, what else is there really to do on a cruise but drink and hang out. Honestly, between ports I was bored to tears and a little tipsy, which is why I am not really a fan of cruises. I’m too antsy and want to be doing stuff. It is why I am on vacation after all—to do things and see stuff.

I continued the rose on land too as one place in Athens served it up in a nice little copper pitcher. This was their version of a carafe I guess. But it wasn’t all rose all day.

I came across these mini bottles in a corner store of semi-sweet rose and white. They call it medium sweet. Not cloying like a moscato but more like a Gweurztraminer. More light and refreshing than heavy and sweet making them perfect sips on hot days on the islands. I liked these so much I found larger versions of them at a wine and souvenir store (yes, it was a thing) and brought them home in my luggage. Added bonus, none of it was super expensive. These minis were like $2 Euros and the full bottles were still under $10. If I could find it here in the US I’d be all over them. That might take time and effort and well, I’ve got Sutter Home to keep me occupied already.

My last night I was randomly hanging out and killing time in the hotel bar and was in the mood for some sparkly and the bartender offered up this nice glass of moscato champagne. Sweet and fizzy with just a hint of pucker on the back end, it seemed to offer a perfect punctuation on my two week journey through the Greek islands.

Seems like I drank a lot while there and well yeah, sure. I was on vacation b***hes! I refer you back to the top of this post where I become a different person and just relaxing in the joy of being somewhere else. If that means imbibing profusely, so be it! I’m not buying souvenirs and crap—-who needs more stuff? So why not spend it on food and booze! Which is exactly what I did. It wasn’t just the savory and the alcohol catching my eye either. There seemed to be a bakery on every corner in every city I visited and since we all know how I love my sweet baked goods, I made ample effort to stop in every one. Be sure to check back next time for the sweet treats relief.