A return to remember

After 312 days on the road, I have finally returned to Toronto.

I had an amazing homecoming. My aunt was due to be pick me up at the airport. She has my keys, so she had to come get me. As we were hugging and jumping up and down, when my friend Stuart sauntered up. Yipee! He works near the airport so just hopped over on the TTC. How sweet!

I was a bit uneasy as I had asked my aunt take me to Swiss Chalet on the way home. Famed for its rotisserie chicken it is not a great place for a vegetarian, which Stuart is. Oh well, he'd manage.

As we were gossiping in the car on the way over, I gave my parents a call. My father was almost coming through the phone he was so overjoyed that his little girl (remember, I turned 40 this year) had returned to Canadian soil unscathed.

We arrived at the chicken shop and I was salivating for my 1/4 dark with fries (I don't even have to look at the menu). The hostess directed us to the back corner where I was surprised again by Manish, Celia and Katheryn jumping up from the table. What an amazing feeling! They had a lovely "Welcome Home" sign and flowers. What a great surprise and warm return.

As we drove home I was checking out the skyline to see if any major transformations had taken place. Everything had a pretty familiar feel to it. When we arrived home, it was great to cross the threshold of my condo and see it all intact. I have been renting it out while I was gone and you can never be sure what goes on. Stuart, Manish and Celia who all live on my floor had been telling me stories over dinner about the recent tenants who apparently felt it was OK to have parties thumping away at 4am, fights in the hallway, and screaming matches. Yikes! Looks like I need to go around and apologize to the floor for any inconveniences.

It is good to be home, but it does feel a bit strange. For one thing, my bed is huge! I haven't had the luxury of a queen size bed much this year. I slept star-fish style to take the best advantage of all the space. Also it feels amazing to rummage around in my own fridge and cupboards, drink water from the tap, and know that I don't have to bring my own toilet paper into the loo. Not everything will be as smooth. There will be many adjustment ahead but I am looking forward to it all.

I want to thank everyone for following my travel blog. It has been fun to share the adventure with you all. Your comments here and on Facebook have been really inspiring and very much appreciated. Stay tuned, I will keep you posted on my journey back into Toronto life. Let's hope it offers up as much fun as the last 10 1/2 months.

Some fun facts (or my own MasterCard ad):
24 countries
56 scuba dives
45 flights
33 trains
15 buses
9 ferries
7 organized tours
3 passports
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Endless amazing memories and a deep yearning to do it again