TravelBlog » Nomadic Dreams

Nomadic Dreams - Laure and David ( ld! )

We're two young professionals enjoying life and working hard at work worth doing. Right now, we’re content with what we have and our nomadic dreams. But we're fascinated by travel and, curiously, look forward to all the inconveniences, hassles, and awkwardness that come along with our sojourns to new locations. So as often as possible, we break free from the shackles of habit and fetters of routine to explore this beautiful world. These are our adventures. Enjoy.

If you want to receive an e-mail alert every time we post a new blog entry, then subscribe by hitting the "subscribe" button in the left panel below. You'll be asked to enter your e-mail address and then you will be sent an e-mail every time we post a new entry. We hope our travels inspire you.

"I travel to find obstacles, to discover my limits, to ease the passage of time, to reassure myself that innocence and antiquity exist, to search to links from the past, to flee the nastiness of urban life and the paranoia, if not the outright dementia, of the technological world." - Paul Theroux

Private Message Subscribe 19 Forum Posts Top Photos Blog Map

Guestbook Search Blogs Favorites First Entry Latest Entry

Joined on: November 11th 2006
Last Login: November 21st 2009

Blog Entries: 15
Photos: 1631
Recommended by 2, Recommends 2

TB Code: [blogger=26322]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Nomadic Dreams, order by Date newest first.

By Nomadic Dreams
October 31st 2009

Fantasy Fest - Best Halloween Party IN THE WORLD!! North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Key West

Body painted women - everywhere!!

Key West, Florida - Fantasy Fest ld! rated #1 for best Halloween party in the world! ld! rated must-attend festival in your life! So Fantasy Fest... what is it? It's a amalgam of Rio's Carnival, New Orleans' Mardi Gras, and Key West flare! There's a lot of exposed flesh (David loves the boobies), cheap drinks ($1 jellow shots, $2 beers, $4 cocktails), and a laid-back, fun attitude that only Key West can provide. This year's theme was "Villains, Vixens, and Vampires" although the highlight of every Fantasy Fest is the plethora of scantly dressed (or completely naked) people! Headl [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
August 23rd 2009

Off the Florida Keys, there's a place called Kokomo... North America

Kokomo sign

Off the Florida Keys, there's a place called Kokomo. That's where you wanna go, to get away from it all. Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand. We'll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band, down in Kokomo. Aruba, Jamaica, oooouh I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahamas, come on pretty mama. Key Largo, Montego, Baby why don't we go? Ooouh I wanna take you down to Kokomo We'll get there fast, and then we'll take it slow. That's where we wanna go, way down to Kokomo. The Beach Boys immortalized this catchy [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 25th 2009

Reflections on Morocco Africa

Islam.

We found Morocco to be not only a photographer's dreamland, but an exotic escape: the sights and sounds of Arabia, legendary souks, medieval alleys, colorful carpets, pungent smells, bold spices, towering ruins, beautiful minarets, spectacular rock formations, camels wandering into the sunset of the Sahara... But the sparkling allure quickly faded as we grappled with the annoyances Morocco brings: unsolicited help, beggars, haggling, and always feeling ripped off. The entire bargaining process where the initial price is astronomical, then you listen to a lecture on the superb quality of t [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 22nd 2009

Meknes, surprisingly hassle free! Africa

Doorway to..

After an hour train ride, we arrived in Meknes, home to the impressive monuments of Moulay Ismail, Morocco's most ruthless sultan who killed 30,000 men himself. After multiple hotels in the Ville Nouvelle (new part of the city) told us they were full, we took a taxi (5DH/$0.63) to the medina and booked our cheapest hotel in Morocco yet -- 60DH/$7.50!! Woohoo!! Our guidebooks described the Hotel Nouveau as "helpful, basic facilities and no external windows" and "retiled and quite jolly." You be the judge -- see video. Right down the street from the Hotel was Place el Hedim, Meknes's t [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 21st 2009

Fes, Morocco's Imperial city Africa

Gate to the Royal Palace

Once in Fes, we jumped in a taxi (8DH/$1) and went to the entrance of the medina, Bab Boujeloud. We took off in search of a place to crash and were immediately (and constantly) nagged, questioned, and annoyed by the kids trying to take us to their hotels (which would have increased the price no doubt). We searched on our own but everywhere we visited was either full or too expensive (1,000DH+ per night/ $125+). We made our way back to Bab Boujeloud to try going down another street and we found the Dutch and Mexican girls we had been traveling [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 20th 2009

Into the Sahara! Africa

David the nomad

David felt ill. Was it heat exhaustion? Jet lag? Dehydration? Something he ate? Probably a combination, but regardless, he was feeling miserable by the time we arrived in Merzouga, and even worse when we hit the unpaved road to Erg Chebbi. Eventually, our minivan stopped at the only man-made structure in the area where we repacked our bags, and mounted camels for a 1 1/2 hour sunset ride into the Sahara! The sand dunes of Erg Chebbi are a vast sea of sand, with hills and valleys of nothing but this orange sand. Our trek took us deep into the dunes, [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 19th 2009

Roadtrip!!! Ait Benhaddou, Dades Valley, and Todra Gorge Africa

ld! at the top of Ait Benhaddou

We wanted to do a camel trek in the Sahara and were really disappointed that we couldn't book one in advance before our trip. All the travel companies we contacted were either full, or wanted more than $400 per person. But in Marrakech we visited Sahara Expedition (online at ) and booked a 3 day/2 night trip for the astonishingly low price of 950DH ($118.75) per person -- Woohoo! Let the adventure begin! :) Roadtrips are always fun, even if they involve hours and hours of driving through desolate valleys and barren lands in the scorching heat with no A/C! [View Full Entry]

Laure and the berber woman making a carpet

By Nomadic Dreams
May 18th 2009

Marrakech Markets - Adventures in bartering and being ripped-off. Africa » Morocco » Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz » Marrakech

Lights
Wish we could have taken some home but not too practical in a backpack.

Shopping in Marrakech. We're constantly plagued by thoughts inundating our minds about how we were constantly being ripped off while in Morocco. This is a common theme for us, as well as most travelers. And we're not talking about paying more for something compared to a local. We're talking about sellers that start the price off at 10 times a reasonable price then insult you and harshly argue with you when you offer to pay less than this extreme price. And then you get screwed because when you half the initial price, you're still paying 5 times what you could be [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 17th 2009

Marrakech Madness Africa » Morocco » Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz » Marrakech

Our welcome mint tea

Next destination: Marrakech, the pulse of Morocco. From Casablanca, we purchased two train tickets to Marrakech (168DH/$21). A few sweaty hours later, we arrived and asked a taxi driver to take us to the riad (guest house) we had booked in advance -- Riad Abbassia (online at ). Our taxi driver did not have a meter in his car and thus after negotiating what seemed a good price to us (200DH down to 100DH ($12.50)), we accepted the ride. The price didn't seem too bad since the guest house offered a pick up for 10 Euros and we had no clue [View Full Entry]

By Nomadic Dreams
May 16th 2009

Casablanca. Here's lookin' at you, kid! Africa » Morocco » Grand Casablanca » Casablanca

BAM!

Casablanca. The word conjures up images of Humphrey Bogart and romance. But that's not exactly what you'll find here. Instead, Casablanca is Morocco's largest city and its commercial and industrial hub. It's also home to the awe-inspiring Hassan II mosque. This is, to date, the most impressive religious structure we have seen (even surpassing the Vatican). But we're not there yet -- in fact, the story hasn't even begun! After arriving from Paris, we quickly (and easily) caught the train from the Casablanca airport to downtown (35DH/$4.38 per person) and pushed ourselves past the [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Nomadic Dreams

Nomadic Dreams | Laure and David ( ld! ) | Travel Blog

Nomadic Dreams - Laure and David ( ld! )

Blogs & Travel Journals