Please scroll down to find the beginning of the trip.
Our flight was at 7:40 pm so we had the whole day to relax before the coach took us all to the airport.
We slept late and had a really nice breakfast and then went off to tour the Art Gallery.
There were some interesting works in the gallery…in particular, the collection donated by hedge-fund pioneer Julian Robertson, who developed a deep affection for New Zealand after taking a sabbatical there with his family in 1978. His wife Josie and he donated their artwork to New Zealand because they were so impressed with the Māori children and how those kids were in awe of the paintings when they looked at them when they were first displayed. Julian and Josie felt they wanted to donate their collection where it would be appreciated. The donation comprises 15 works by famous artists…. Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Paul Cezanne, Salvador Dalí, André Derain, Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Gauguin, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso. The collection also features paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture. Allan knew of Julian since Julian was the keynote speaker in a morning financial conference years ago, and Allan was on a panel at the conference in the afternoon.
The Robertson’s lived in New York City in an apartment overlooking Central Park and the apartment had all of the art on display. One painting by Picasso was hung in the bathroom because his wife didn’t like it.
We had a quick bite to eat and then sat with the group in the hotel lobby till it was time to leave.
We said goodbye to our new friends amid tears and Allan and I boarded our Air New Zealand flight. Our new friend Debbie was also on this flight. The flight was extremely turbulent for hours with everything bouncing around. You could hardly eat or drink…the liquids were slurping over the rims of the glasses.
Around 10 pm after dinner was served, flight attendants came around and made up our beds. I have to say, the mattress they put down was the thickest and the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever had on a business class flight. I slept great.
In the morning they dismantled our beds and served breakfast and we arrived in Houston. Going through security and rechecking our bags for the flight to Newark was a breeze.
Unfortunately, our flight to Newark was delayed for over two hours so we didn’t take off until much later than planned. We finally arrived in Newark, but our luggage came on a different flight and was at a different terminal. Since our driver had been waiting for us for hours, we decided to have United send us our luggage and hopefully it will arrive today. We arrived home around 2:30 am and went right to bed.
It was the trip of a lifetime and we had so many adventures and first experiences. We will never forget Australia and New Zealand. It was a long trip…but so worth it. We did it all! See you for the next journey!
PS…Yesterday, our luggage arrived at Lehigh Valley International Airport and Allan and I went over and picked it up. YAY! And now…to do the laundry!!
Monet
My favorite in the collection
