When I was young, my mom instilled in me, through both nature and nurture, a serious love of travel. We would leaf through magazines for ideas, compile detailed itineraries and pass the map back and forth on long road trips. It’s always been a dream to be able to say to mom: “Pick anywhere in the world that you want to go and I’ll take you there.”

So although I couldn’t quite foot the whole bill (maybe next time), I was able to encourage my mom to think big and to plan a trip of a lifetime that we could take together.

Mom chose Greece. She was specifically interested in the islands. So that’s where we headed for 10 days that I hope she’ll always look back on fondly (despite the threat of delay caused by volcanic ash and actual delays caused by perpetually striking Greeks).