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21/09/2026

‼️Going on holiday in the 80s‼️

✈️On the flight you got complimentary peanuts with a drink and you always got lemon scented wipes (what's a nut allergy?)
✈️You didn't reserve your airline seats, just sit where you wanted - first come first served
✈️Everyone got a FREE hot airline meal and you only got to choose between 2 options - no veggie options
✈️Duty free was actually cheap
✈️There was a smoking area on the plane - cos obviously the smoke knew not to go in the non smoking area
✈️Local supermarkets sold no British brands, so your mum had to pack Tetley Tea bags, Nescafe, Mcvities Chocolate digestives and Heinz Beans in the case
✈️On package holidays when you got on the coach, there was always a rep on the full journey to your hotel informing you of local interests, offers and advice.
✈️Booking your holiday was only ever done through a high street Travel Agent
and you'd go in there collecting lots of holiday brochures and take them home to choose your next adventure, checking the back pages to see exactly how much it was going to cost
✈️You did get the option of looking at Ceefax for holiday deals (if youre under 30, Google this lol)
✈️ Airlines back then: Dan Air, Airtours, Thomas Cook, British Midland, British Caledonian, Monarch...
✈️Suitcases and cabin bags had no wheels! Yep, bad backs all round.
✈️Luggage came in 2 colours - black or brown so it took ages to identify your suitcase on the carousel and usually meant you picking up Joe Bloggs' case only to realise and shove it back on the belt hoping nobody saw you
✈️At arrivals, a family member always greeted you because it didn't cost them a weeks wage for petrol and parking to pick you up at the airport
🏨No television in your hotel room
🏨If you wanted to know the news, you had to buy a newspaper and they were always 1 or 2 days behind and cost twice the price
🏨Newspapers and magazines were treasure and after you'd read them, you'd seek out a fellow British person to pass them to
🏨If you wanted to watch television, you had to go in the "TV Room" downstairs in the hotel, but often you couldn't change the channel cos there would be people there already invested in watching a programme
🏨No hot English breakfast, just ham cheese and boiled eggs - croissants if you were lucky
🏨There was no such thing as all inclusive, it was breakfast, half board, full board or self catering
🏨 Everyone would get proper dressed up for their evening meal in the hotel - men in shirts and ties, ladies in pretty dresses
🏨Your evening meal was never buffet style, you got a set menu and waiters would serve you in uniform with bow ties
🏨Sunloungers were very limited so it was sunbed wars at 8am
🏨The food was always "foreign", so kids ate chips all holiday
🏨There was always a "Welcome" meeting on the morning of your first day in the hotel and everyone went, often just for a glass of complimentary cheap champagne and orange juice and lollies for the kids
🏨It was normal for your mum to pack a travel iron and do ironing after you unpacked...wtf
🏨Mum would pack a travel washing line and pegs - those who weren't prepared often lost towels, swimwear and underpants which had blown off the balcony
🏨Trouser presses and bidets were the norm in every accommodation
🏨Bathrooms had no complimentary soap or shower gel
🏨There was no air conditioning in your room! So you slept with the patio doors wide open risking getting robbed and eaten by mosquitos
🏨No fridge, no kettle...And no hair dryers!
🏨 The maid brought fresh laundered towels to your room daily - none of this save the planet stuff
🏝You couldn't walk down a street without being pestered about TIME SHARE (Again. Google it)
🏝Everyone coming home with a big toy donkey or a sombrero
🏝Lots of topless ladies on the beaches and men wearing budgie smugglers
🏝Taking ages writing 6 postcards to family and friends "Wish you were here" and sending them only for you to arrive home long before the postcards did
🏝Holidays abroad were always 2 weeks and during this time you never contacted home - cut off from the outside world
🏝 If you wanted to phone home, you made sure you only did this once and your dad would be shouting hurry up as he pushed endless pasatas (old money) in the coin slot
🏝Having to get Travellers Cheques from Thomas Cook for your holiday dosh, then queuing at a Spanish bank to get your cash by showing your passport
🏝The Club 18-30 holiday (yep, Google it)
🏝Everyone bought a lilo and an inflatable animal to sit on in the pool
🏝 Pushing family members in the deep end of the pool was the norm
🏝Mums would tell you to say NO ICE in your drinks as she knew it would give you the sh*ts and if a waiter put some in your lemonade, she'd fish it out and put it in an ashtray
🏝Excursions in your resort always included a trip to a Vineyard (Wine tasting) and a Flamenco show
🏝You felt so exotic buying souvenirs for family and friends, usually Spanish sweets and a fridge magnet...

𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 If my passport could talk.....𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗢𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 👌

🇫🇷 Cherbourg – Port DayNot a port I’d rush back to, and if we visited again on a cruise, I’d probably stay on the ship.W...
21/09/2026

🇫🇷 Cherbourg – Port Day

Not a port I’d rush back to, and if we visited again on a cruise, I’d probably stay on the ship.

We started at La Cité de la Mer, which is literally just outside the ship. We could actually see Le Redoutable submarine from our balcony when we woke up in the morning. Being literally next to the ship saved us some money as, after visiting, we went back on board for lunch before heading out again to potter round the town.

Cherbourg has an interesting connection with the Titanic as it was her first port of call after leaving Southampton, so I was looking forward to the Titanic exhibition. Unfortunately, I found this part disappointing. I’d expected something much more interesting, but much of it was screens taking you through the timeline and story of the ship and the sinking.

The submarine really surprised me. Apparently, lots of visitors who weren’t particularly interested in submarines beforehand say they’re surprised by how fascinating Le Redoutable is, and I agree as I was expecting to be not that bothered by it . Seeing the cramped living conditions, the engineering involved and the sheer size of the submarine was genuinely interesting. You get to walk through the inside and see where the crew lived and worked.

After lunch we headed into Cherbourg . The town is quite small and, for us, there wasn’t a huge amount to see. It didn’t really feel like we were in France until we heard people speaking French!

My daughter loves macarons, so we stopped at a little shop to buy some. Unfortunately, the woman serving wasn’t particularly friendly once she realised we weren’t going to be spending a fortune! We did stop at a boulangerie and bought a freshly baked snack each, which were really tasty.

Overall, I’m glad we got off and explored La Cité de la Mer and the town but Cherbourg is probably a ‘glad we’ve seen it once ‘port for us rather than somewhere we’d rush back to.

What are your thoughts on Cherbourg?

12/09/2026

Absolutely love the animation team at Friends of Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi Beach (Moraitika, Corfu)

Review of our holiday at Friends of Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi Beach (Moraitika, Corfu) August 2026:This is, I think, th...
04/09/2026

Review of our holiday at Friends of Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi Beach (Moraitika, Corfu) August 2026:

This is, I think, the 12th time we have stayed at this hotel. This speaks for itself. We are a well travelled holiday with around 6 foreign holidays a year (I’m self employed and work like a machine so we can travel.) and Messonghi Beach/Mitsis Messonghi is the only place we return to year after year.

Rooms:
We stayed in a beachfront bungalow which, as always, was amazing. Clean, spacious and with views across the sea and to Messonghi. Ive searched and searched for similar accommodation in Europe but never actually found anything anywhere near the same. I’ve put a video of the bungalow on here when we arrived if you would like to have a look.

Food:
The food is great. There is so much choice during the day that we rarely went to the main restaurant for lunch. The fresh pizza and crepes are my favourite, the pulled pork barms and the butties from the sandwich bar are more than enough during the day. I haven’t been to an AI with that much choice. Yes, you may have to wait a short time but that is because they are literally making and cooking the food fresh in front of you. I’d prefer that than frozen pizzas and packet pancakes.

Drinks:
These are typical AI drinks. I’m a Coke snob so will always buy some cans of Coke Light from the shop to enjoy but the Coke on tap is not unsinkable. In the evening I was happy with vodka and Diet Coke. We were on a family holiday so not interested in sitting around getting drunk.

Bars:
We went over the river to timeoutboss for their popular cocktails and mocktails. They were absolutely delicious and you can see why so many people go over there for a night out.

Entertainment:
The animation team go above and beyond to make your holiday the best it can be. There is so much going on around the pool and the resort all day that I only read two books in two weeks! (Compare that to three on our one week cruise a couple of weeks before!) The colour party and festival on our first day is probably one of the highlights of the holiday. So much thought, time and planning had gone into that so a huge thank you to Spyros and his team. Yanek, Liwia and Niko must also get a special shout out - their energy is fantastic.

Staff:
The staff go above and beyond to help you here and they really are a credit to the hotel. Haithem on the guest relations definitely deserves a mention - always a wave and a hello when we walked past. Spyros is an absolute legend. Alex and his wife on the bar are always amazing. And I must mention Maria who I email asking question after question but she’s always so patient with me!
Our flight home got cancelled while we were at the airport so we returned for another night and day. The staff at reception, Spyros, Haithem and Maria all went out of their way to help make a difficult situation much easier - this says so much about the hotel (and probably the Mitsis brand) as we were so much more than just another booking. It’s these little things that make the difference to your experience.

Trips:
We used Soula Sakadaki - Your Corfu guide like pretty much everyone else. Her trips are the best in the area and her personal touch and care are really what makes her stand out. We used Soula for our transfers and also for getting our son safely to the hotel when he travelled on his own. She kept in touch with me, him and the driver all of the way as she knew my anxiety was through the roof!
Two of our family and three of our friends enjoyed the horse riding on the beach through her. Our friend’s little girl came back asking if she could now start horseriding lessons!
I ended up doing the sunset cruise three times over the fortnight but absolutely loved it. The colours were unreal and swimming in the blue lagoon in the early evening was just perfect.

Watersports:
Messonghi Watersports
I love the fact that this is on site and there is so much to choose from. Our kids (and dads) did everything from paddle boarding to jet skis with some fast inflatables in between! Make sure you plan some money into your spends for this.

Sunbeds:
Yes, I got up early - but I do at every hotel we stay in but there were empty sunbeds dotted around. I would say that it is reasonable to remove towels if you notice that they haven’t been used for over an hour or so. I don’t agree with people putting towels out the night before and they should be removed.

Local area:
We chose 75 Steps Taverna & Accommodation as the place to celebrate our son’s GCSE results - it is one of my most favourite places on earth and you really must book a table there while you are on holiday. Watching the sunset over the mountains while enjoying the most delicious Greek food makes the most perfect evening.
We also ate in the Family Tavern another favourite of ours. Only 5 minutes from the hotel and their famous orange cake is to die for.
Scoop & Cone is another huge favourite of our family - yes, there’s ice cream at the hotel but this is a whole other level. It’s like a work of art - make sure you pop down at least once and take a picture in front of their legendary instagramable wall.
We also went over the river to Mojos for their famous burgers.

We have booked again for May half term and we are working out how to fit an August trip in around our other summer travel plans!

Another great holiday, lots of memories made and I can’t wait to return in 2027.

31/08/2026

I absolutely love the animation team at Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi

30/08/2026

Sunset cruise booked with Soula Sakadaki - Your Corfu guide when staying at Friends of Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi Beach (Moraitika, Corfu)

We were due to fly home from Corfu to Manchester at 23:35 on Wednesday night.At around 10pm, in the airport, we received...
28/08/2026

We were due to fly home from Corfu to Manchester at 23:35 on Wednesday night.

At around 10pm, in the airport, we received an email from EasyJet telling us our flight had been cancelled and to wait for another email explaining what to do next. And that was it.

Not one member of EasyJet staff was there to help an entire plane load of passengers who had effectively been abandoned at Corfu Airport at nearly midnight.

It took around 90 minutes just to get our luggage back. When it finally appeared, one of our suitcases was broken.

The whole experience at the airport was awful. Some of the airport staff were incredibly rude and unhelpful, while passengers became increasingly distressed. People were in tears because they didn’t know what they were supposed to do.

Thankfully, because our original flight was so late, I’d paid for an extra night at Mitsis Messonghi Beach. I always prefer having a room available until we leave rather than checking out hours before a late flight - thank goodness we did that.

Eventually, we received an email with our options. The next direct EasyJet to Manchester isn’t until Tuesday — almost a week later!

One alternative was to fly to Berlin the following morning, wait six hours and then fly to Gatwick.
After being away for more than three weeks, we had five suitcases, hand luggage and all my Disney souvenirs Trying to trek across London with everything just wasn’t an option.

The only other alternative was Scotland so we flew to Edinburgh last night. Because everything was so last minute — and it’s the back end of the Edinburgh Fringe — the hotel and taxis cost a fortune.

We’re currently on a train from Edinburgh to Warrington, where our airport transfer is picking us up instead of Manchester Airport.

There were no suitable direct trains to Liverpool, and there was absolutely no way I was changing trains with all this luggage!

I completely understand that flights get cancelled and that sometimes things happen outside an airline’s control. What I find completely unacceptable is leaving a plane full of passengers at an airport in a foreign country at nearly midnight, with nobody there to help them.

I’ve spent more than £500 so far just trying to get us home. We are fortunate that we could find that money at short notice, but not everybody can. One mother and daughter were sobbing because they had no money left. It was heartbreaking to see.

EasyJet blamed the cancellation on the weather, although other flights were landing at Manchester around the same time. Make that make sense.

We were originally collected from our hotel over 44 hours ago… and we’re still not home.

21/08/2026

The sunset over the mountains at 75 Steps Taverna & Accommodation

17/08/2026

Another great evening at Friends of Canvas by Mitsis Messonghi Beach (Moraitika, Corfu)

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