BACK TO SCHOOL

 

From Barcelona to Edgartown to London to Cannes - this summer was enjoyed in true nomadic fashion. 

Sadly, the travels and lounging around all come to an end tomorrow. C'est la rentrée in Paris!

Love,

OLB 

photo taken by: ALW of Zeta Tauri

ON/OFF

 

taken in: Paris, Mallorca, Prague, Brussels, Waterloo, Bruges and Brighton

 OLB

nomadic pal num. 6 : sofia nebiolo

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I AM: Sofia Alexandra Nebiolo, 21 (of SUPERTRAMPIN') HOME: Brooklyn, NY

I'M CURRENTLY: Finishing my studies in Paris and working as a freelance journalist. 
I DIG: Photography, Style, Smoothies, Travel.
DESTINATION: Vietnam
WHAT: My boyfriend, his parents and I decided to take a trip to this beautiful country! The influence of their French heritage and my American heritage on Vietnam made for an interesting exploration.
WHY: Why not?
WHEN: February/March 2012
WEATHER: Rainy and cold in the North, Hot Hot Hot in the South
TRIP TUNES: Egyptian Shumba by the Tammys
TRIP THREADS: A colorful camouflage poncho I picked up in Japan and a fruit patterned bathing suit by Stella McCartney!
CAN'T FORGET EVEN IF I TRIED: Cruising through the Mekong Delta in a small wooden canoe wearing traditional Vietnamese triangle hats!
NEXT STOP: Copenhagen

BEST

RELAXATION SPOT: The beaches of Mui Ne, a four-hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City. The eco-friendly hotel Mia provided beach side lodging, giant cushions on the sand and fresh fruit every morning!

MEAL: The Banh Mi Sandwich! The most delicious sandwich from a street cart in Hoi An because in Vietnam it is all about street food. Quan An Ngon in Ho Chi Minh City. Set in an open colonial style building the restaurant is lined with different local street food, the barbequed clams are a must!
DRINK: Lemon Juice
ADVENTURE: Hiking through the mountains and waterfalls in the Sapa, a village in the North. We meet young girls from these old farming villages that followed us hiking the entire day! Exploring the UNESCO Heritage Site, Halong Bay and the floating fisherman villages on the water!
SLEEP/LACK OF SLEEP: The overnight train ride from Hanoi to Sapa. The rickety old train swung from side to side; needless to say I didn't get much sleep

 

(All photos were shot by Sofia Nebiolo with the following cameras:  Leica Z2X, Portra Film and a Canon 60 D.)

excused absence

Sorry about the long absence, but between my 2 weeks of traveling the European continent whilst on break, and my grandpa Mac having a bit of memory issues, I have been unable to blog as I had intended. No worries though, because today I am making my way back to Paris and getting back on the online bandwagon. Coming this week, finally, a new nomadic file: that of literary friend Hynd Lalam, a lovely, intellectual and multilingual young lady I've had the pleasure to ignite a friendship with since having moved to Paris. We usually swap travel stories over tarte tatin and café noisette so it felt only natural for me to ask Hynd to join my growing group of Nomadic Pals. She will be telling through witty words and beautiful photos of her December escape to Oman. Also in the works, a few tales from my own 2 weeks of travel: Mallorca, Brighton, Bruges... Stay tuned! OLB

nomadic pal num. 4 : sacha pytka

 

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YOU: Sacha Pytka, 23 (of Soyons Ouf) HOME: Venice Beach, CA 

I'M CURRENTLY: On lockdown in LA until I finish my next samples and head to Europe. 

I DIG: Cooking, clothes, and adventures. 

DESTINATION: Moscow, Russia 

WHAT: My friend Aline and I thought it would be fun to do a girls weekend in Russia with our little sisters.  Arielle and I got our tickets and visas, but my friends didn’t get their act together so it was  a sisters weekend. 

WHY: Curiosity 

WHEN: February 2009 

WEATHER: FREEZING 

TRIP TUNES: Whatever we were dancing to! 

TRIP THREADS: An amazing white fox fur coat given to me by my grandma. I could have been naked under that thing and still have been warm. 

CAN'T FORGET EVEN IF I TRIED: Arielle’s grand finale fall while ice skating in the Red Square. 

NEXT STOP: Back to Paris, then surfing in Mexico!

BEST

RELAXATION SPOT: The jacuzzi at our hotel- the Mariott Moscow Royal Aurora. It’s all you want after walking out in the cold all day. 

MEAL: I can't say it was my favorite meal, but certainly the most Russian meal we had was at the super-traditional Café Pushkin. Lots of pickles and cabbage and things of the sort, but the restaurant itself is stunning.  

DRINK: Beluga Vodka. I don’t like vodka very much, but when in Rome… This was the most highly recommended vodka from room service and I must say it was delectable.  I found it at a liquor store nearby here in California.  When I brought it up to the register, the Russian cashier asked me “How do you know about Beluga?”  He was quite impressed. 

ADVENTURE: Trying to cross the street.  The avenues there are basically 4 to 6 lane highways with no visible crosswalks. We rush across one trying to get to the Red Square, and a group of police officers approach us and start speaking to us in Russian.  Our stomachs drop. “We don’t speak Russian.” They look us up and down. “Give me your passports.”  There’s no way I’m giving these guys our passports. We smile, play dumb and walk away very fast saying we don’t have them on us.  We later find out there are underground tunnels.  We also befriended the gay man who sold me a pair of boots. He took us to Vika Gazinskaya’s fashion show at TSUM department store and we wound up partying at a Russian gay bar, that was pretty fun too.  Also, our flight home was cancelled and we had to stay in an airport hotel for the night. A chocolate and vodka fueled karaoke party ensued with the rest of the stranded passengers. 

SLEEP/LACK OF SLEEP: Simachev- This is the only club that I remember the name of, but we danced to everything from badass Russian rap to Backstreet Boys.

Arielle

Cafe Pushkin

  Trying to cross the street

 inside the super luxurious mall GUM

 

Arielle modeling some great finds from a shop in an underground crosswalk tunnel. my fur hat and her pilot's jumpsuit.

Red Square and GUM

nomadic pal num. 3 : aliénor meyer

 

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I AM: Aliénor, 23 (of Alienation) HOME: Rue Mouffetard, Quartier latin de Paris
I'M CURRENTLY: Launching a web tv and looking for a harp teacher.

I DIG: taking night trains + watching jellyfish + retro sci-fi + Tiaras + drawing on book pages
DESTINATION: Kingdom of Jordan. A road trip from the North – Amman + Petra + Wadi Araba + Wadi Mousa + Mount Nebo + Wadi Rum + Jerash - to the South  

WHAT: Culture & Adventure
WHY: because I’m fascinated with Middle East countries (especially Saudi Arabia and it’s a border country)

WHEN: december 2009
WEATHER: warm days, mild evenings
TRIP TUNES: Arabic music 

TRIP THREADS: cameras. I had a big and heavy bag to carry all way long my Canon SLR camera, three different objectives, an holga camera, a disposable camera and photographic films. We also shared with my sister all kind of scarves bought from Bedouin's women on the road and with whom we tied our hair.
CAN'T FORGET EVEN IF I TRIED: Ibrahim's (the driver) declaration of love to my sister Astrid in Wadi Araba while I pretented to be asleep « Me Love you »
NEXT STOP: I would love to see the Nothern Lights in Iceland

       

BEST

RELAXATION SPOT: Floating on the Dead sea with black argile on my skin and a view on Israeli mountains. 

MEAL: Bedouin's special rice and chicken eaten with fingers and a very good libanese (best middle east cuisine) restaurant in Amman, the capital.
DRINK: Not any, it is a Muslim country ! Just a fresh orange juice at breakfast.
ADVENTURE: Galloping in the ruins of Petra with pure Arab blood horses. Riding camels in the Wadi-Rum desert which looks so much like Planet Mars with its red sand and monumental rocks.
SLEEP/LACK OF SLEEP: We spent Xmas eve with a Bedouin family in Wadi Bousa valleys. They offered us a comfortable striped red carpet under their tent. Before going to sleep, the woman showed me her wonderful jewellery collection. Sweet dreams.
 

 Astrid

 

 Astrid + Ibrahim

 Bedouin night

 Bedouin jewels

 Crusaders

Dead Sea

 Jerash ruins

 Little girls loved my H&M jewels

 Relax

 Riding through the Petra mountains

 Sea level

 The castle of the Crusaders

 Wadi Araba

 Wadi Rum Desert

Petra