Where in the world are Carey & Greg Schuster?

Just another day in paradise

Leaving on a jet plane, I know when I’ll be back again…
Much too soon, in fact.
It was a lightning speed trip that somehow crammed 5 cities, 3 countries, 4 time zones, 5 plane rides, 2 islands, 2 continents, 1 day gained, 1 day lost, and 4 very different climatic seasons into a glorious 8 day trip!
Let’s start at the beginning.

With strategically packed bags for the extremely varied weather we would be facing, we were off to Fiji for some rest & relaxation…which was also a well planned pre-wedding tanning session. We landed in Nadi, the capital city, and were approached by a cab driver offering to take us to the port where we would be taking a yacht out to the island where we were staying. We gladly accepted when we set eyes on the bus that was our alternative option. So, into a 1970 yellow cab we went. Gabbing away, asking questions, and taking in the landscape, the driver offered to drive us around the city and show us his house (for no extra charge) since we had three hours before our boat would launch. Happy to see more of the country, we sat back and enjoyed the hospitality and smiles of the beautiful Fijian people that we had heard so much about.We were the only white people at the market on the main island.
We weren't able to identify what these four lovely ladies were selling.

Bidding farewell to Samuel, our driver, we climbed aboard a massive yacht to say “Bula” to the island that would be our home for the next three nights. When we were called to get off the boat we thought there must have been a mistake as we were still in the middle of the ocean. Then we saw the crew heave our bags into a little “tinny” (tin boat) with a roof and a bright eyed Fijian man greeting us, “Bula.” So, off we went in the tinny with all of our luggage for another, shorter journey, to the actual island.

Greg holding on as we crashed over the waves in the "tinny"

As we approached the island, a postcard perfect scene, we were greeted by two men strumming and singing. It was the perfect start to a perfect holiday. It was romantic, breathtaking, peaceful, and entertaining. We kayaked (Carey had to do some arm twisting) out to a deserted sand island that disappears in high tide. We were the only ones out on the island and spent the afternoon in complete awe of the beauty and complete serenity of our surroundings. Otherwise, we snorkeled, sunned, read, and napped by day. And, we ate, drank, and danced by night. We drank the kava (unbeknownst to us at the time, a narcotic), sang the songs, danced the dances, ate the fresh food, basked in the sun, snorkeled with the fish, and sadly waved good-bye when it was all over. There are not many repeat places on our travel list, but Fiji is definitely one of them.

Can you spot the teeny tiny sand island?
Can you spot jumping Carey?

Then it was all back to travel business. We spent the next two nights in a row bedless, on planes. Our flight from Fiji to Los Angeles was one of the nights. We had a long (10 hour) layover in LA and decided to make the most of it. We managed to hit Beverly Hills for some shopping, lunched at the Ivy, headed into Hollywood, and enjoyed dinner with great friends before heading on our next red-eye to Washington, DC.

Rested & relaxed before the back to back red-eyes

We were greeted on the east coast by Dad Schu and Maddie at a painful 6:00 a.m. Excitement beat out exhaustion and we managed to chat the entire trip to Philadelphia, where we enjoyed a day to adjust to the time, and then indulged in pre-wedding festivities, rehearsal celebrations, catching up with friends, and of course – Alison and Tom’s lovely wedding. Not to worry, jet lag was not an option. Carey and Greg were donning their dancing shoes and footloose all night. The wedding would not have been complete without Greg’s token cup dance that was fantastically executed to Michael Jackson this time! Well done.

And then, all too quickly, we were in car headed back to DC, on a plane back to LA, on another plane back to Sydney, and in a cab back to our apartment.
We blink. We pinch. We ask if it was all a dream.
Since it all went so fast and was such a perfect trip, we can’t help but think it was.

I'll have a piece of that.Greg partaking in the kava ceremony.
We realized we should have inquired about the after effects of the kava before, not after we drank it and could not feel our mouths or throats.

Check out the album for all the photos from the trip.

Bottoms Up to the Melbourne Cup

The gorgeous photo finish horses fighting to cross the line

It’s Australia’s Kentucky Derby, but this horse race might be a more beloved event than the Derby since it is actually a national holiday and invites a four day weekend for those lucky people living in Melbourne, a three day weekend for those living in the rest of Victoria, and a half day off for the rest of us. The Melbourne Cup is rightly called “the race that stops a nation.” Many claim it is the most prestigious “two mile” handicap horserace in the world. It is held annually on the first Tuesday in November. Out strut the high heels, party dresses, sports jackets, and of course, the signature big hats and fascinators. Well dressed and in good spirits, the Aussies are digging in their wallets, waving their money, and placing their bets.

So, in the spirit of the holiday, Carey sipped on bubbly with work pals at Darling Harbour, while Greg raised his glass at his company’s 10th floor bar overlooking the Harbour (yes, they have their OWN bar in their building…most companies do here).Carey placed the bets and then had to go back up and do another one after a frantic call from Greg because he had a “really good feeling” about his horse. He swore. With four different horses that we strategically picked and were all favorites printed on our betting tickets, the text messaging stopped to watch the race. Annnd, all was lost. Not one of the four horses we bet on was even in the top six! And that friends is why we don’t gamble.

"Viewed," the Australian horse, won by a nose. Literally.

The Jewel of the South Coast

A bank holiday weekend means our bags are packed and we are hitting the road. This time we headed south to Jervis Bay. An undiscovered treasure, this destination was recommended by a few Sydneysiders who deemed we were worthy of being in-the-know. Several locals call it their favorite place in all of Australia. Greg's colleague said that Jervis Bay is a "magical place." Clearly, we were more than intrigued and excited to see it for ourselves. With magnificent national parks, a charming little town, divine restaurants, hidden creeks and coves, natural unspoilt bays and beaches, crystal waters, rugged cliffs, a laid-back attitude, and ultra friendly locals Jervis Bay easily lived up to its reputation, despite the unfortunate weather we faced.

Carey wishing it was a sun umbrella she was holding...

We stayed at a delightful B&B owned and hosted by a couple who paid great attention to interior design and healthy breakfast preparation, much to Carey's pleasure. On Saturday morning we rose early to enjoy some brekky and then hit the bushwalking trails for the day. As we walked out of our room to the dining terrace, we stopped to take in the monsoon downpour falling from the sky. While it did dampen our clothes, it didn't dampen our spirits....at least not Greg's. He happily drove to all the sights and hiked a short distance to the viewpoints with an umbrella, which replaced the original plan of a full day's hike.

We discovered how uncooperative whales are for photograph taking.
While they gave us a fantastic acrobatic performance, their antics were impossible to catch with the camera.

Jervis Bay is a resting place for mother whales and their calves en route south after birthing in the warmer northern waters. So, we were off on a whale watching cruise Sunday morning. To keep in stride with all of our other boat trips, the waters were insanely rough. And, in order to stay consistent with all of our other boat trips, Greg fed the fish his breakfast the entire trip. We are looking at a perfect record of five for five. He did manage to lift his head long enough to see an acrobatic whale perform in front of him. After the trip Greg hugged dry land and said, "Boy for not being a boat guy, we sure manage to get on a boat every trip we go on." It was then he wisened up and sadly canceled our wild dolphin swimming trip in New Zealand that we had already scheduled in December.

Open water+middle of the ocean+warning of rough waters+several hours = Bad Idea.Greg looking nice and slim after the whale watching cruise.

He took advantage of the opportunity to exercise his signature diet regime.

Greg happily on dry land, which happens to be on the sand on one of the whitest beaches in the world.

In looking ahead, we have started the countdown for Fiji! Five weeks and we will be kicking back and exploring the South Pacific. Followed by a quick trip back to the States for Alison's wedding! Three weeks later, we will be heading to New Zealand for ten days and then up to the Great Barrier Reef to finish off our first year Down Under.

Carey somehow manages to get attacked by this spider, instead of the giant ants from our Pittwater trip. This may have been a bit scarier since so many of Australia's eight legged creatures are extremely poisonous and some deadly.

Ants and Possums

After enjoying separate weekends of fun, Carey in Melbourne with the girls and Greg in Sydney with the guys, we headed up north to Pittwater for a weekend together. Pittwater is a charming town about an hour drive north of Sydney. And while it is techniquely a beach town, it has a little twist. The only access to Pittwater is via the water, be it by boat, kayak, ferry, etc. We opted for a water taxi as it was the most efficient way to lug enough food and booze for twelve people across to the island.
Friday night consisted of a nice home cooked meal followed by an entertaining night of drinking games – the highlight of which was the introduction of flip cup to Sydney’s northern shores. While flip cup was the highlight of the night, the lowlight was definitely the game of hide and seek. In an abbreviated version of the story, Carey’s turn at hiding resulted in her being found in a closet covered in giant Australian ants. Needless to say, this was not Carey’s favorite part of the weekend.

Following the fun filled Friday night, we awoke Saturday morning to find that winter had officially ended in Sydney. It was by far the nicest day of the year, perfect weather, not a cloud in the sky, sun shining. In fact it was so nice that the guys decided to start the morning with swim. And Greg soon realized that the water isn’t exactly at its warmest in the early days of summer. A split second after he jumped off the dock, he bounced straight back out of the water and climbed back onto dry land – guess its not quite swimming temperature just yet.

After a hardy Saturday morning breakfast we headed out on a mid-day hike, or as it’s known here...a mid-day bushwalk. And while the picturesque waterfall at the end of the walk was absolutely gorgeous, the highlight was probably the fact that we made it through the entire afternoon without encountering any snakes, spiders, or any other deadly Australian critters.

We decided to top off Saturday in true Australian fashion, with a barbeque. On the menu for the night was of course the traditional burgers, sausages (or as the English call them bangers), chicken, and the Australian staple…Kangaroo. And while Kangaroos are comparable to deer in many respects, they actually have a taste very similar to a steak and are quite good.
After the big barbeque and a few drinks, Carey decided that following on the successful introduction of flip cup, it would be wise to introduce another American classic to Sydney’s northern shore…cheerleading. This was in response to a massive request by the girls, especially by Ali, who says she wishes she was American (for the cheerleading and sorority life... ah, some of america's finer offerings..). By the end of the night the house was filled with six girls chanting “big G, little o, Lets Go Lets Go!”
The local wildlife must have mistaken the cheerleading for some sort of calling. While we were hanging out in the house, a not-so-little possum wondered onto the porch and started rooting through the trash bags. As soon as it got a look at all of us pointing and staring, it must have taken offense and decided to leap at the glass door directly at Greg’s head. Luckily the door was shut so no harm was done, other than Greg being a little shaken up by the entire chain of events. I guess it wouldn’t be a weekend away in Australia without some sort of animal hi-jinks. In the Blue Mountains it was the moths, at the Great Barrier Reef it was the sharks and stingrays, and here in Pittwater it was the ants and possums. Gotta love the Australian wildlife.

We split up…

…for the weekend that is. Carey and her girlfriends took a trip down to Melbourne, leaving Greg and the guys at home to live the bachelor life. The girls had been planning this trip for a little while now so when the weekend finally arrived there was some obvious excitement in the air. Immediately after exiting the plane in the Melbourne airport the festivities began. As a sign of what the weekend had in store there just happened to be free wine samples available for all airport patrons. Both Friday and Saturday night were as you would expect…lots of drinking, lots of dancing and lots of laughing. There were however a few surprises, such as when the girls spontaneously decided to join in on a rendition of Oasis’ Wonderwall with one of Melbourne’s street folk or the hour or so spent trying to capture the perfect action hair shot as seen in the pictures below. And while the nights were filled with drinking and dancing, the days were spent doing what girls tend to do when they get together…shopping. Luckily, Carey’s friend Ali is a fashion designer so the girls got to play dress up and enjoy their own personal stylist for a full day while shopping in some of Melbourne’s most trendy boutiques. All in all it was the perfect girls weekend.



While Carey and the girls had an exciting weekend down in Melbourne, Greg and the guys opted for the more laid back approach in Sydney. Friday night consisted of a mellow night at the pub followed by some Saturday morning golf. Greg then, deciding to take advantage of having the apartment to himself for the weekend, had the guys over Saturday night for some poker and pizza. And while a good time was had by all, Greg somehow managed to lighten his wallet both on the golf course and at the card table. Guess it turns out that shopping and partying in Melbourne actually is less expensive than golfing and playing cards in Sydney.

Winter Down Under

So we just about made it through our first Australian winter…can’t say it’s been too bad. In fact, just last weekend over 60,000 people decided to brave the winter weather for one of the country’s largest races…the City2Surf annual fun run. The idea behind the race is that all the runners start out in the middle of Sydney’s central business district and run about 14 km to Sydney’s most famous beach, Bondi. Carey and Greg both participated in the event…just not quite exactly in the same way. Carey got up early in the morning to meet up with some friends to run the race, while Greg slept in and met up with some other friends for a nice leisurely breakfast. The plan was for Greg to be down at the finish line to take some pics of Carey as she triumphantly finished the race, however breakfast went a little longer then expected and by the time Greg got down to Bondi everyone was already in the pub for the post race festivities. All was not lost however, we managed to enjoy the rest of the Sunday afternoon in the pub celebrating.

The weekend of the City2Surf was also the weekend of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, which are quite the big deal in Australia. Nothing seems to get the Aussies more excited than sporting competitions. And for such a small country (20 million people) they manage to hold their own pretty well. As we write this entry, they currently stand fifth in the overall medal count thanks mainly to their skills competing in all things water related. Whether it’s swimming, sailing, kayaking, rowing, or playing water polo, the Aussies seem to thrive in the water. And they seem to get the biggest thrills out of beating the Americans, which thanks to Michael Phelps didn’t happen too often this year.

While the City2Surf and the Olympics have been two of the bigger events of the final month of the Australian winter, we also managed to squeeze in a birthday party for two of our good friends who both turned 30 this year. The night involved lots of drinking and dancing, which seems to always lead to two things…Carey breaking out some sort of accent and Greg breaking out his infamous cup dance. On this particular night Carey decided to try to impress a Scottish couple with her ability to speak with a Scottish accent. And while they thought it was quite amusing, I don’t think anyone will be confusing her for Sean Connery anytime soon. As for the cup dance, its Australian debut (which is actually pronounced de-boo down here) was successful as can be evidenced in the pictures below.

Winter down under isn't so bad...although I think we're both ready to start hitting the beaches again!

Bloggin USA

So after seven months of life down under, the time for our first trip back to the States had arrived. And while we weren’t exactly jumping out of our seats at the thought of two 30 hour travel days within the same week, we were super excited at the thought of seeing our family and friends, celebrating Kelly’s wedding, and most of all spending time with Maddie.

The trip began with a four night stay in our adopted home of Washington DC. We packed our schedule pretty tight as we wanted to take advantage of the time we had in the nation’s capital. Kelly picked us up at the airport late Saturday night. Immediately upon arrival at her house, she and Carey were trying on wedding dresses, rehearsal dinner dresses, bridal lunch dresses etc, and discussing the upcoming nuptials. After a much needed sleep, Sunday brought the big reunion with Maddie…and it lived up to all our expectations. Though, we are afraid we may have traumatized her as she would not leave us out of sight for the next few days and cried anytime we left her. The rest of the day Sunday was spent hanging out in Old Town Alexandria with Maddie (and oh yeah, Greg’s parents as well). Sunday night Greg’s parents took us to our favorite Italian restaurant in old town, which was an extra special treat since good Italian food in Sydney is definitely lacking.Carey had set aside the entire day Monday for an all day shopping spree with her friend Grace (yes, Maddie attended as well) while Greg actually went into his office to visit with some of the KPMG DC crew. Monday night was a night Carey and Greg had particularly been looking forward to…dinner at Rio Grande with the entire DC gang. While the Aussies have perfected the art of cooking seafood, steaks, and all varieties of Asian food, the simplicity of the taco, burrito and quesadilla seems to have eluded them. And the queso was just as we had remembered, high caloric melted cheese in all its glory.

Tuesday we headed out to suburban Maryland to spend the evening with our good friends the McCoy’s. Maddie was reunited with her pal Pete, the yellow lab, while Greg and Carey worked up an appetite playing with the cutest little boys ever, Jackson and Garret. Everyone enjoyed some Chicago style pizza compliments of Stacey and Gordon and a swim following. We also enjoyed an excellent night sleep in our old bed which is now residing in S&G’s guest room.

The official wedding weekend then began on Wednesday, as Carey and Greg made the journey up to good old Indiana, PA. Wednesday night was mostly spent catching up with Carey’s family and telling stories of our escapades down under. Most of the wedding guests arrived at the farm Thursday evening for a pre-wedding barbeque. Luckily Greg and Carey’s Dad were able to sneak in a quick round of 18 before the guests arrived, starting Greg’s tri-fecta golf weekend – three rounds of 18 in three days.

Friday was the rehearsal day. Carey spent the day hanging out with Kelly and the rest of the bridesmaids while Greg participated in the pre-wedding golf tournament, which he and his Dad actually won, well tied for the win to be exact…with Carey’s dad and his partner. Friday night was quite the evening, full out buffet style – a Caribbean themed dinner at Benjamin’s in down town Indiana compliments of the Polsinelli’s. Steel drum band, mojito bars, congo lines, Hawaiin shirts galore, and perfect weather, the all out bash was topped with belly dancing, lots of laughs, photos, and Aussie story sharing.

All of this fun was just a prelude to the big event, the reason we flew around the world in the first place, the marriage of Kelly and Jim Scott. What a day it was! Beautiful weather, lots of dancing (yes, Greg’s cup dance included), and an open bar obviously made it a perfect wedding. Serious props to Kelly & JS for the best quirky first dance we’ve ever seen! Loved it!

Then after a quick breakfast Sunday, we jumped in the car, drove down to DC, hopped on a plane and flew to LA, then onto another plane and flew back to Sydney…just as we had finally adjusted to US time. Aside from the jetlag that was never really conquered, it was an amazing week Stateside! Congratulations Kelly and Jim Scott! Hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon!

Football Down Under

It’s been a little while since we posted, but contrary to popular belief we've both been pretty busy at work and haven't had the chance for any weekend getaways this past month. However, we did manage to get out and experience our first Australian sporting event. Sports are a huge part of Australian culture. And football is by far the most popular sport amongst the Aussies, followed closely by cricket, golf, tennis, and soccer (which confusingly is also called football by anyone of European decent). However, the term "football" has a different meaning depending who you are talking to in Australia.

If you asked a Melbourne resident, or anyone from any part of Victoria for example, they would tell you that "footy" is Australian Rules Football. Known as "Aussie rules", Australian Rules Football is played with an oval ball on a large oval shaped cricket field. The aim of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball between the middle two posts of the opposing goal.

If you asked someone from say Brisbane or Sydney, particularly someone of a more upper class background, they would probably tell you that football means Rugby Union. "Union" is played internationally, most famously in England, and is known for its scrums. Scrums are a means of restarting play and involve players from each team binding together in rows. The ball is then fed into the gap between the two packs and they both compete for possession. While "Union" is popular in all parts of Australia it is mostly played in Queensland and New South Wales.

The most popular form of football amongst the working class of Sydney is Rugby League. Originating in England, it has become massively popular in Sydney. In fact of the 16 teams in the Australian Rugby League, ten are in New South Wales. One of the more famous teams, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, are owned by the most famous of all current Sydneysiders, Russell Crowe. We were lucky enough to score two box seats to a recent Rabbitohs game (thanks Hazel!). And since we don't own any Rabbitoh shirts, we thought the next best thing would be to sport our Penn State gear.

Unfortunately, Russell wasn't at the game and even more unfortunately, the Rabbitohs got crushed by the St. George Dragons. Despite the beating, we still had a great time at the game. One of the highlights was watching the local Aussie kids showing their football skills during a halftime youth game.
We can now proudly say we've attended our first Australian football game. Next up we will be cheering on the Sydney Swans (Australian Rules Football) and the New South Wales Warritahs (Rugby Union). After that we'll have experienced the trifecta of football in Australia.

The Hunter Valley

We spent this past weekend visiting the Hunter Valley with our friends, Jess and Adam. Hunter Valley is considered one of Australia’s most famous wine country destinations. We headed out of work a little early to beat the traffic on Friday and made it up to the Hunter in time to check into our cottage at Cyprus Lakes and grab a bite to eat at one of the token rustic local restaurants. The best way to describe Cyprus Lakes would be to take Nemacolin Woodlands and move it to the center of Napa California...and then add a few dozen kangaroos feeding in the evenings.

We spent Friday night at the local Irish Pub watching the Australian national soccer team defeat Ghana in an entertaining soccer match. Saturday morning we got up early, grabbed some Brekky and were at our first winery by 10:30. We then spent the next six hours hopping between boutique vineyards and larger commercial wineries sampling some of Australia’s best Shirazs, Chardonnays, and Semillons, among many others. We made it to seven vineyards in all, and can honestly say each one was an awesome experience. Some offered sweeping views of what seemed to be never ending fields of grapes, some made you feel like you were a part of the wine making process yourself and others simply overwhelmed you with their endless selections of reds, whites and roses. Not only was it a perfect day of wine tasting, it was also quite an educational experience. Carey learned that once a bottle of wine has been opened it only has about a 48 hour life before it starts to lose its taste. And needless to say Carey is now more motivated than ever to finish each bottle of wine she opens within two days. Greg thinks this shouldn’t be a problem.

By late afternoon we were all a little knackered (tired for those of you back in the States). We decided to head back to the cottage and spend the remaining time before dinner chillaxing with the kangaroos back at Cyprus Lake. If we hadn’t realized we were out of the city by Saturday night, then our dinner experience sure drove that point home. Everything was great, but the service was of a noticeably slower pace. Not to mention the fact that the waiter forgot to carry the one when adding our bill and almost short changed himself about $100, which seemed to be a common occurrence in the Hunter as it happened at breakfast as well. For what they possess in wine making knowledge they seem to lack in basic math skills.

Despite the lack of math skills, if you are ever in Australia and are looking for a relaxing weekend getaway in a beautiful country setting mixed in with some outstanding wine tasting then the Hunter Valley is the perfect experience. It’s one of the more picturesque parts of the country and it has no shortage of fine wines, as well as delicious cheeses and chocolates. We would definitely recommend our fabulous tour guides and wine experts as well - thanks Jess & Adam! Overall, it was a great weekend and a highly recommended trip for anyone visiting New South Wales.

Moving...Again!

It’s hard to believe but we have been here in Sydney for five months now. And wouldn't you know it, one month before our lease was up we got word from our landlord that he was planning to raise our rent an extra $150...PER WEEK. Obviously, we were not happy to hear such news. However, we found a great two bedroom apartment in a suburb just over the bridge from the central business district. We jumped on it right away and gave our two weeks notice to our landlord. This all happened just about two weeks ago, which means come this Saturday we are moving. For those of you who are interested, our new address is 2/65 Upper Pitt Street, Kirribilli, NSW 2061.

We posted a picture of our new neighborhood above. It’s an aerial view looking south-west. Kirribilli is in the foreground. It’s a great little village community with a Brooklyn feel to it. It’s also where a lot of our friends live - in fact, 8 of them live on our street! So as we are dreading the actual act of moving again, we are definitely excited to move into our new place. And to be sure we don't get a surprise from our new landlord in another 6 months time, we decided signed a 12 month lease.

And don't forget, we still have an extra bedroom so hopefully we'll see some of you over here soon.