DS2 is home

Well, he had a wonderful time.

He got in around 2 AM Monday night/Tuesday morning, after travelling almost 24 hours in the last day. He was surprisingly full of energy and wanted to show me what he bought and some of his pictures, so we did that before heading off to bed.

His favourite place in Greece was Rhodes. He loved the medieval look of the area and felt it was the place he most deeply connected with.

He didn't really spend a whole lot of money. Less than his brother did, I would say. I think more of 2's meals were covered by the program than 1's were, so that is a part of it. He took 300 Euros with him and never went to a bank machine to get more.  He has  about 80 Euros left, so I would say he did a pretty great job.

He brought some Greek figurines for himself, as that is a passion of his. He bought a bunnyhug (hoody) in Mykonos, and his silver medallion that he is pretty excited about. (It was smaller and lighter than I thought it would be). He bought me a small painting on canvas. It was the one that spoke to him the most, though it probably wouldn't be one I would have chosen. That part doesn't matter to me. I know how much thought he puts into everything he buys, so that alone makes it special for me.

We paid an extra $236 Canadian for tours they were on. We will get $76 of that back since weather did not permit them to visit Santorini.

He loved the ship, though many people who cruise a lot said it was a very base kind of ship. He spent $73 over 5 days for the unlimited drink/snack package. We knew that cost was coming. |Meals were provided, but there was  lots of downtime on the ship and this would take care of those needs.  He said he  tried every fancy (non alcoholic) drink  and coffee there was in all of the restaurants and cafes on the ship. Given those drinks were $6 or $7 euros each if he had paid that way, it was a good deal.

He tried all of the different food offered, though he didn't care for some of it. He found olives bitter. He learned how to drink Turkish and Greek coffee, with the dregs at the bottom.

On the way there, they spent a day and night in Toronto. He toured the Aquarium there ($33) and said it was an amazing experience. I was hoping he would love it. The people who chose the CN Tower tour instead said they felt like they spent all their time in line, rather than experiencing it, so I would say DS made a great choice.

Would he go to Greece again? To Rhodes, yes, but otherwise, he feels he saw most of what he wanted to see. Italy would be his next place to visit, should the opportunity come.

I am so glad I was able to save up for, and give him this trip.