Cafe Highlights 2025-04-16

 The other day I saw this very sweet and adorable cafe being shown on Twitter.  It got me thinking about all the amazing and wonderful hangout spots that are out across the grid, that don't quite get the attention that they deserve, which has inspired me to consider doing Cafe Highlights.  Today, I'm going to start with the one that gave me the inspiration to start this project.

Sakura Cafe "nodoca", which is run by Arrshu over in Sansara.  It's not just quaint, it's downright adorable and sweet.  The cafe matches the owner, who is equally sweet and so friendly.  I ended up taking two photos of her cafe because the first one, the closeup, didn't do the surrounding area justice.  Her cafe is tucked in a quiet village type setting surrounded by these amazing Sakura trees.  It gives a very peaceful and gentle vibe to the whole area.

Mint Studio is not just a cafe but also a GTFO hub, owned by Mintstone.  It's also his studio, so respect any areas that are private please.  His cafe has an open and airy feel to it, which is really nice when you want to just unwind and relax.  If you are out driving around Sansara, and you see the cafe, stop by, grab a coffee and kick your feet up.

Lana's Cafe is owned by Lana Pawpad, who has decorated her cafe in a very tasteful and serene manner.  Her cafe is located in Heterocera, so if you find that you are driving around, this is a great spot to stop in and take a break.  

Lofi Cozy Cafe, which is also a voice hangout, is an open air style lounge/cafe that allows for voice and I saw mention karaoke as well.  The owner Savannah Banana Moondust, has set the lounge up with a nice fun, beachy vibe going on there and I do admit, since I'm Canadian as well, it kind of hit home a little.  Located over in the Sansara mainland, it's a great place to check out while you are exploring.

Cafe Starsign is located over in Nautilus and it's just superbly well-done and has a whole booklovers, chill vibe going for it.  The surrounding area for it is set up with a fishing village feel to it.  It is up in a skybox, so it's peaceful here.

Hi-Cafe is located over in Heterocera and I had to take two photos for this cafe, since it is on both sides of the road and in order to get all the beautiful details right, taking each side seemed logical.  The top photo is where the cafe is located and walking over to the other side, will bring you to a tranquil library for you to enjoy your book.  

Last, but never least, there is the Burrow Coffee Company, lovingly run by Harlow Heslop, this coffee house has been around for a very long time, in some way.  It is a very long running cafe, which hosts events, music, tons of laughter, and great company.  It is on it's own sim and it just went through a renovation and upgraded.  It's impressive and Harlow did an amazing job building.  Come for the coffee and stay for the company you find here.

Borgo Vecchio Harbor

Today, I visited the Borgo Vecchio Harbor, which is an international Italian sim.  It is a well thought out and designed sim, which has a gorgeous harbor and attached fishing village, with quaint shops through the main square area, along with cute little cafes to sit and relax at.  There are two languages here, Italian and English, and the atmosphere has an open and airy feel to it.  The surrounding village is laid out in a manner that is easy to navigate and walk around, and there are rentals for boats and homes available here.  To moor your boat here, it will cost 200L a week, which is very reasonable and since they are located in the Nautilus Continent, you have sailable waters to enjoy.  If you don't rent here, you can still use their rezz zone to rezz out a boat, to go out and enjoy the surrounding waters.

The landscaping around the entire area is very scenic and laid out quite well, so from a photographic perspective, this is a perfect spot for photos for scenery and modelling, in my personal opinion.  If you are looking for a place to listen to some good music, like the blues, most days there is music available in the Square.  The group for the sim is free to join and they seem to be quite active, from what I saw.  I do recommend checking this charming sim out.  I found it to be not just incredibly charming but a very sweet place to relax and enjoy.

Sous les Oliviers

Sous les Oliviers introduction: 

As the theme of Tuscany, Sous les Oliviers is a place to relax, explore or simply admire the view, Sous les Oliviers is the ideal retreat. Every nook and cranny is designed to offer you an immersive and soothing experience, away from the hustle and bustle.

 After landing, I could see the resemblance and the inspiration of Tuscany in the design of the sim.  Ely, who was the designer of the sim, did capture the essence and beauty of Tuscany in the different areas, with the beautiful architecture of the buildings around the landscape, to the actual landscape throughout the sim.  I could almost smell the tantalizing and mouthwatering smells coming from the market, once more; which is how amazingly well Ely did with this build.

This sim is wonderful for exploring, fantastic for photography, and the serene and tranquil atmosphere that I found here, is amazing for just relaxing in.  

If you do take photos here, Sous les Oliviers does have their own flickr group, so please feel free to share.

The Quieting

*After a long hiatus, I'm back to doing the two things I love the most in SL, photography and traveling.  I'm going to be doing a little more this time, namely showing my traveling in SL, with different vehicles and some of the sites I see.  Those trips though will be shown on a blog dedicated to that traveling, which is called Second Life Travel Journal.  This blog though will be dedicated to what it has always done, which is destinations, since 2016.*

I think, for my first post is about The Quieting.  The amazingly talented and wonderful woman responsible for this sim is the same one that did Auld Lang Syne and The Forgotten, who goes by the name Elo.  I covered her first sim but sadly missed out on her second one.  Thankfully, I get the chance to cover her third installment.  

The sims theme is fantasy and she nails it beautifully, creating an atmosphere of peacefulness and a visual delight for the eyes, with scenic views that breathtaking.  If you are looking for a place to do photography, explore, or just relax in, The Quieting delivers all of that and more.  

The photos are a small taste of what is waiting for you at The Quieting.