When my father told the whole family that he had bought property for sale in Greece, we were all very excited. He had recently retired and we knew that my parents were thinking of moving, but we never thought that they would buy a home in Greece.

I think that we really expected them to purchase one of the many Spanish properties that we had seen online from the real estate agent. Every time that agent sent them some new information on any of the new Spanish properties that had come onto the market, my mother would forward them to all of us kids to see what we thought.

So, imagine our surprise when my father made the announcement that they had bought a property for sale in Greece. They had never mentioned Greece, because they never thought that they could afford it, but when a house that was in their price range became available and they saw it online, they made a full price offer that had been accepted that same day. Their plans were to spend six months in Greece and then six months back here in the States at their current home.

The entire family was looking forward to being able to go and visit my parents in Greece in their newly purchased second home. None of us had ever been to Greece but we knew that it would be wonderful.