Attention Diet Coke Girlies: This Woman Packed a Suitcase of the Good Stuff for Vacation
Published Aug. 24 2023, 12:15 p.m. ET
Thanks to social media and platforms like TikTok, more people than ever have come together over a love of different foods, customs, and yes, Diet Coke, of all things. There's almost a subculture of people who love Diet Coke, almost to a fault. I mean, I have been forced to drink other diet sodas at establishments that didn't serve the bubbly on tap, so I get it.
It also means that I understand why a user on TikTok by the name of @allyshaps, whose real name is Ally Shapiro, has a friend who brought a suitcase full of Diet Coke on vacation to Europe to save herself the pain of being without the soda for the duration of her trip. According to Ally’s friend in the video, Jill Zarin, she expected to not only miss out on Diet Coke, but also Coke Light and Coke Zero. So she brought enough cans and bottles for two weeks.
A woman packed a suitcase full of Diet Coke for her trip to Europe.
In the video, the TikTok user, Ally, shows her friend’s suitcase after they arrive in Rome for a two-week-long vacation. And, like anyone else who loves Diet Coke, Jill explains that she needs the suitcase of Diet Coke since nothing else will do. I can sometimes be the one to turn down another diet soda if it’s my only option, so as a Diet Coke fan, I get it.
“So I’ve smuggled in my Diet Coke from the United States because they don’t sell it in Europe,” Jill says in the video. “They don’t have Coke Light and Coke Zero and it sucks.”
I don't know how I feel about saying the word "smuggled" in an international airport, but OK.
Despite her little hack to ensure she has a supply of Diet Coke, a few of the cans exploded during the flight.
Still, Jill has a suitcase full of the golden brown bubbly that so many of us basically need to function. Hey, I don’t drink coffee. I’m allowed to have this for caffeine and so are my other Diet Coke girlies. And spoiler alert, there are tons of us.
Which is pretty clear, since the TikTok video shows someone whose love of the drink is so strong that she refused to go a couple of weeks without it.
But again, I might find myself in a similar situation if I were her. I need a nice, ice cold and extra spicy Diet Coke with every meal. I can't just drink flat water with dinner, that’s basically blasphemous.
People were quick to tell her they do actually have Diet Coke in Europe.
Despite Jill’s plan to travel to Rome with her suitcase of Diet Coke and beat the system, people in the comments under the video pointed out that there is actually Diet Coke in Europe.
One person commented, “Ireland and U.K. have Diet Coke — never seen Coke Light here!” Another shared, “Have literally never seen Coke Light anywhere in Europe. Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and full fat are all in plentiful supply.”
So maybe Jill was a little ill-informed. But at least she was prepared regardless.
For some, there's nothing worse than arriving to your destination and being unable to enjoy your favorite snack, drink, or even cell phone service. I'd like to commend the woman for thinking ahead — even if she could have bought Diet Coke in Rome all along.
And to be fair, one of her issues is trying Diet Coke from other countries and finding out it tastes a tad different than what she's used to in the United States. That's a totally valid concern for anyone with an affinity for a snack or drink.
I honestly can't blame Jill for planning ahead. As some other people in the comments said, they would do the same thing if it were their drink of choice that they weren't sure they'd have while away from home. You wouldn't fault someone for bringing their favorite toothpaste or concealer with them on a trip around the world, so I think we can let this slide.