Back in Sydney

December 11, 2010

H ello Everyone!  We have been back in Sydney since Saturday and will be here for the rest of the trip.  Our stay is now winding down but we have had an unbelievable experience!  If you haven't guessed it by now, we were in Tasmania for three and a half days on our private "road trip!"  There were lots of cameras, crews and people following us and asking for our autograph and our picture! It was beautiful and picturesque and we are already missing the people and the scenery!

When we arrived back in Sydney on Sat. afternoon, we had some time to get organized in our rooms once again.  Four nights in four different hotels was amazing, but we lost a few items along the way and didn't have much time to write or talk to anyone in our families.
There was a welcome back celebration with Oprah and all the guests at the Botanical Gardens along the waterfront.  There were fireworks and lots of food and dancing.  Although it was wonderful, we left right after the fireworks as we were all quite tired from traveling so much in such a short time.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sunday morning found most of the audience members climbing the bridge over Sydney Harbor with Oprah and Gayle.  Since I am not fond of heights, I chose to walk around the city with Mrs. Reiche and Mrs. McCarthy.  We went to St. Mary's Cathedral for mass and then we walked downtown to the shops for souvenirs.  We met up with everyone for lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant.
That afternoon I tried surfing at Bondi Beach with many other members of our group and actually did pretty well for the first time.  We were serenaded by a local choir of students in elementary school and they were so excited that we were there. I actually spoke to many of the children to ask who was in the third grade.
Later that night, we all had dinner at three different restaurants in the city, but met up after dinner in a courtyard for dessert and singing. 

On the way home, we sang Christmas carols on the bus led by Mrs. Reiche and myself.  It was a fun, exciting day!!

Monday, December 13, 2010

We woke up to another beautiful day in Sydney and everyone went on a sailing adventure in Sydney Harbor!  There were lots of beautiful sailboats and yachts and some of our group got to help sail the boats.  I had Flat Stanley with me and we just enjoyed the beautiful sights and weather.
We had most of the afternoon to get caught up on packing and e-mailing.  But, we are in for a surprise tonight and they won't tell us where we are going yet!! We all think it is a concert, but you will have to wait and see!

This may be my last post as tomorrow is the taping of the two shows and we will be gone from 8 a.m. until about 11:30 p.m.!! Yes, it is going to be a long, but exciting day at the Sydney Opera House!!

Take care and see you all soon!

Love,
Mrs. Wright

Our "Secret" Destination

Good Morning Everyone!
   We have been having an unbelievable experience down here in Australia!  We left for our three day excursion on Dec. 8th and it is now Dec. 10th where I am.  I will give you all a little hint.  It is an island near Australia and it is the most southern island that I will ever get to visit in my lifetime as I doubt that I will ever get to Antarctica! Never say never, though, especially after what has happened to us!
We are being treated like royalty here and have our own entourage of people who bring us from one place to another.  After arriving at the airport, we were driven in cars to our hotel rooms at Stewart's Bay Lodge. It took a long time to get there as we had to stop and be filmed all along the way.  We had a private dinner, music and gifts(lots of them) and then fell asleep looking at the southern cross in the sky.
Yesterday, the 9th of Dec. we toured on the southern ocean by motor boat and saw a whale, dolphins, seals and an albatross!! The wing span of an albatross is incredible!! See if you can find out just how long it is by the time I get back!
After touring by boat, we got off at Port Arthur to have a picnic lunch on the top of a hill overlooking the water.  Flat Stanley was with me all day yesterday and I will show you just a glimpse of what he enjoyed!

Lunch at the top of a hill and dinner at the Art Museum in Hobart, the capital city.

Day 1, Sydney

G'Day Mates!!  We have arrived in Sydney and it is absolutely amazing!! They rolled out the "Red Carpet"(literally) for us and we are in awe of the hospitality and the beautiful sights and sounds of our 5 star hotel and surroundings.  We had a welcome reception with buffet lunch, divided into smaller groups where we found out where our 4 day excursion would take us.  More on that later as we have to keep it under wraps due to the intensive media coverage...the airport coverage was overwhelming! 
In the afternoon, the groups broke up and some of us went on a walking tour and some of us went to the Sydney Opera House.
At five, we all met in the lobby to take a harbor cruise with appetizers over to the Taronga Zoo where we had a private tour of the zoo. We had our pictures taken with a Koala Bear and then a buffet dinner during sunset overlooking Sydney Harbor!!

As you can see, we do not have much down time!!  Every moment is filled with an eloquent adventure and to end our first day, we had to pack for our next 4 day personal excursion!!  Details on that later...stay tuned!

8 Days To take off...

Good Evening Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are ready for the final countdown to Australia and the winter vacation which will be right around the corner when I return from this adventure.
I am getting excited about this trip and will be packing my suitcase all weekend with the recommended list that the travel team has sent to us. We are also waiting for a "trip kit" to arrive in the mail...hmmm, maybe I should check the mailbox today...Black Friday!  Happy shopping adventures!

Talk to you all next weekend when I take off from Logan to LA!