Pususaari

*Due to RL demands and events, I had to take a break for awhile from SL and concentrate on taking care of RL.  I'm going to slowly try to resume blogging, writing, and exploring SL.  I will try to continue posting cafe's that I find in SL, but it will probably be twice a month when I create a list of cafe's I recommend.*

Pususaari is re-opened and looks amazing!  I had the opportunity today to drop by there and take a look around, along with snapping some photos.  Pususaari is very soft and gentle in atmosphere, encouraging relaxation and exploration of the land.  The natural aspects blend seamlessly with the buildings located on the sim, with a beautiful eye to detail displayed throughout.  

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.

Today's Destination Highlight - Winter Love Valley

It has been truly quite some time since I had the pleasure of wandering around Second Life again.  RL being RL, for the last couple of years, it has been incredibly busy.  With that being said, I have the pleasure of being able to come back and wander around the grid a little more.  

For my first post, after a 2.5-year hiatus, I bring Winter Love Valley, for your wandering pleasure.  The first impression I had of this amazing sim is that the builder took their time and patiently built a sim with a fabulous variety of activities for their guests, surrounded by gorgeous visuals for the eyes to feast on.  There are rezzers available for horses, a sleigh, and for snowboarding for the guests to enjoy, along with ice skating.  There is a ski lounge to enjoy, an ice dance cave, and a ferris wheel to ride.  When this sim is not set up for winter, it's normally called Love Valley, which is owned by the multi-talented lady, Evely Heartsong.  (Regarding the horses, they only ask that you do not ride them on the ice, since that can interfere with the skaters.)

 

For Old Times sake - Auld Lang Syne

One of the things I love about the grid is the places that are inspired by real places in real life, like Auld Lang Syne.  Created by Eloise Blake and inspired by parts of Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides, she has brought some parts of Scotland to the grid.

Aptly named Auld Lang Syne, a song which was submitted to the Scots Musical Museum by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, who claimed the words were taken from an old man's singing.  The lyric's in the Scottish version is about good friends sitting down together and recalling adventures and memories of long ago.

I've tried several times to come up with a description of what you will find but I have to admit, like Scotland, it's hard to describe.  You will find rough terrain and soft gentle spots to rest your feet, which is Scotland.  It's a land of contrasts, with harsh and weathered cliffs that the sea beats on it, day-to-day, and then the soft gentle moors, with the heather sweetening up the air and enchanting you as you walk by it.  And yes, that is what Eloise pulled into SL, the whole atmosphere that makes Scotland such an amazing and beautiful land.  With that said, I think in ending, I will just leave you with the Scottish version of Auld Lang Syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 
And auld lang syne?

(Chorus)
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne, 
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, 
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, 
For auld land syne.

We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine; 
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn, 
Frae mornin' sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd 
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right guid willy waught, 
For auld lang syne.

Credit:
Lyrics and information obtained at Encyclopedia Britannica

Breath in the Oxygen!

Due to RL, this post is a long time in coming.  Back in December, I had the pleasure of meeting SixDigital and seeing her amazing sim, Oxygen. 

The sim is done with a bit of a vintage feel to it, with plenty of beautiful areas to visit, including a gorgeous beach that is set up with not just an eye to detail, but you get the sense of peaceful serenity, as well.  A walk around the sim is not just a pleasure, but for a photographer, it's pure joy.  She balances the visuals out in a manner that is not overwhelming, but wonderful to behold, in each area you look.

Not only is it a cornucopia of wonderful visuals, but it's also active as well, with a variety of different events and activities for you to enjoy.  If you feel like you never wish to leave this treasure of a sim, there are also rentals that are available at the sim, so you can make it your home as well.

Drop by, join the group and enjoy!

The Haunting of Hill Valley

The Haunting of Hill Valley is a fairly interesting build.  It is owned by Cinn Morigi (cinnamonmousse) & Syler Avon (jaiden.nexen), who are the owners of GTFO (Get the Freight out), which I had blogged about previously. 
The Haunting of Hill Valley is located on the Basenville region in the Satori continent, right off of Route 8.  It is a really cool build because Hill Valley is an actual neighborhood, that is located in the next two regions, one with homes and the other region contains townhouses, along with the GTFO HQ.  In the Haunted section, you can click on a bike rezzer and take a little ride around the neighborhoods, right up to the board walk and their store plaza area. 
I really could go on and on about what is there, since there was so much to see.  For the Haunted area, you have a large haunted mansion to explore, a smaller witches house with all the trimmings, a large and small graveyard, along with a haunted gazebo that has dancing ghosts around it. 
Chatting with one of the owners, this is an area that they plan on doing many things with.  They are on the Top SL Haunted Places tour and hunt and they are in the Destination Guide as well, for this season.  This is basically their Event/Display area, which will be changing with the seasons and the different holidays, so this is a place to keep your eyes on. 
The land is rated moderate and a little heads up that the neighborhoods contain rentals, the beach houses, homes, and townhouses.

**A little side notes: While blogging these areas and since I'm a major Halloween fan, I decided I would show off the costumes I like to wear while I'm working on these areas.  The costume I'm wearing is called the Georgina Outfit, from AFI Designs.  It comes with a hat, hair, jacket, jeans, boots, and the balloon, which has the holding pose in it.  It is really super cute on and I was having a blast wearing it while I was doing my landscape photography.  Check AFI Designs out for more Halloween costumes as well.  She has some really great ideas and selection to choose from.

 **WL used was by Jay Battlescare - Special Deco 4.0 (1)

Something Wickedly Haunting Has Arrived

My favorite time of the year is here, with the breezes becoming crisper with fresh, cool air and the colorful palette of fall covering the landscapes in RL and in SL.  Tours are in the last stages of planning for the season and you can feel an excitement thrumming through fellow Fall lovers, all eager for the turn of the seasonal clock.
At this time of the year, I do tend to be more involved with landscape photography.  I cannot help but try to capture all the amazing sights that are put together and created by so many talented artists.  With that said, I felt that starting with Pendle Hill and the owner and creator of the sim, Lauren Bentham, was only right since her work was the first I seen in SL, back in 2009.
Lauren Bentham has created and owned some amazing sims over the years, including the Baja Beach regions, Arranmore, Everwinter, Storybrooke Gardens, Netherwood, and Bentham Manor.  Each one is very high quality in appearance, right down to the smallest of details. 
There is a group that is available to join with a one time fee of 175L, if you wish to rezz things, which goes to the upkeep of the land.  (Remember to pick up after yourself though please).  The region is a moderate rating and it is up all year long.  They also have a Flickr group that you are encouraged to submit your photos to, if you have taken photos at Pendle Hill.

For the windlights, I was using Jay's Battlescars newest ones that were released recently in the large 26 in 1 pack from his blog.