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.)

 

A Love Letter to Mimmo

I admit I did mull over the title for a bit before I came to realize that I had fallen in love with this breathtakingly beautiful region.  As a photographer, I have seen many beautiful and creative places.  Each one that I have visited and posted about, took my breath away in some way, be it visually, emotionally, and/or spiritually.  Mimmo, to me, is a dedication to photographers and their photography.  Everywhere I looked, there was a photo opportunity waiting for you to click your camera and capture it.
Mimmo is owned by Eli Cord (Elise Sirnah), who is a talented photographer herself.  Her gallery shows her work off, giving examples from Mimmo itself, of beautiful works of art.  If you are wondering what Mimmo means, it's an Italian term of endearment for a child or baby, and you can see, this is her baby.  Every inch of the land is done with love and dedication for photography, from the stream that runs through the entire region to the soft rolling hills and the mountains.  You are invited to rest and relax, allowing you to let your creativity loose on the beautiful landscape.
For photographers who need to rezz, there is a group available to join, just remember to clean up after yourself when you are done.  There is also a Flickr group that you can join, to submit your work to, as well.
For once, I find that I just don't have enough words to describe this amazing place, so instead, I think I'll let my work show you.  My only hope is that I did Mimmo justice in my photos.

If you don't already know it, Jay T Muir updated and released a large pack of wl's that he had available in his blog for free.  He now has it packaged all together, so there is 26 wl's in one pack.  Most of my photos were taken with his wl's here, with the exception of the last one with the painting on the easel, which was taken with Ambient Realism.  The link is to his FB page, just scroll down a little way and you will find the post where he released them along with the download link.

Petit Lac Des Cygnes

Petit Lac Des Cygnes, which means Little Swan Lake in English, is inspired by the Southwest French countryside, near the foothills of the Pyrenees mountain range, according to the introductory notecard you receive, upon entering the sim.  It is the private home of Cougar Sangria & Henry McAuley, who have graciously opened their home to the public, Wednesday - Sunday.
There are several areas that you can visit on the sim.  There is a quaint cafe, a private dining area called Antoinette's, a maze, the L'Orangerie, and a swimming pool.  The Chateau that you will see on the land is the owners private home, which is not a public area, but with all the things to see and experience, you will be kept quite busy.
There is a group, with a small 25L fee to join, if you need to rezz something for photos, with only the small request to clean up after yourselves.
They do have a 75 script limit and a 200,000 complexity limit active there, so please keep that in mind when visiting and sex is prohibited.
They also have a Flickr group that you can join so you can share with them any photos that you may take of the sim. 
There are many areas for some fantastic photo opportunities.  The landscaping is incredibly detailed and well thought out and the feel is both rustic and quaint, at the same time.  A lot of love, time, and effort was put into the creation of this sim and it's obvious in the amount of detail that you will see here.

Achill Island: A Touch of Irish Charm

Yesterday I did a bit of a walkabout on the grid.  Translation: I was profile perving and finding places that I have never heard of or thought they sounded interesting.  

Achill Island was in the 8th profile I had perved..I mean, checked out. and it just sounded so charming, quaint, and adorable that I had to take a peek.  I'm really glad I did that.  It has this sweet, charming feel of it, that was reminiscent of Ireland.    Designed and landscaped by the talented Minnie Atlass, she captures the feel, colors, and atmosphere of the Irish countryside in vivid detail.  

As you will see in the photos, it is set up with rolling hills, a peaceful and relaxing pond, and the cliffs are rugged and dramatic looking, similar to what you would find in Ireland.

Photographers are welcome but this is also a private home for Ziggy Duster and Grace Sixpence, who are gracious enough to open their land and share, so respect for their private areas, please.

Labyrinth of Darkness

Do you love the thoughts of walking through the dark, foggy night with your senses on overdrive, waiting for something to jump out at you?  Does the Halloween season send thrives and chills up and down your spine in anticipation?  Does your heart race at that suspicious bump in the night?  Well, it does for me and for many others, who love to decorate and celebrate the season. 
At Labyrinth of Darkness, you will see the season's attitude and atmosphere captured perfectly, with a nice mix of humor, as well.  They are one of the stops of this years SL Top Haunted places & hunt.  If you have not had a chance to check them out, go check them out because they are here for only a limited time.

The Illustrious Linden Mole

As many of us know, especially the older residents, the Linden Moles are those employees from Linden Lab, who are responsible for setting up and maintaining the mainland.  They terraformed, landscaped, and created the web work of roads, that go through the entire mainland.  They are rarely seen, but you know that at least someone put all those roads, linden trees and the buildings up that is on Linden public land.
What many may not realize is that they also have a sim that they live on.  Yup, there are roads there, along with a center square, a pub, and quite a few residences, many with the name of the mole or, in one case, the Linden who lives there.  The other fun fact is that this is all open to residents who may want to drop in, visit and take a look around. The sim is called Meauxle Bureaux, which is a bit of a mouth full when you try to say it, but it's worth at least one visit, even if it's to cure your curiosity on if the moles really exist.

The alluring draw of Pacifica

In the last couple of weeks, I have heard several people request for underwater areas to take photos.  The original intent today was to find the Halloween area that is being set up over at Pacifica, but alas, that was not open yet.
As I stood on the dock, debating on looking around, I noted their diving gear and signage about an underwater area.  Unable to resist the urge to peek, I slide under the blue waves near the pier to find a breathtaking underwater world open up to me.  As I moved further through the water, I found many areas of wonderful beauty, just waiting to be discovered.  With thriving aquatic life surrounding me and a landscaping set up to amaze you, I started to feel the draw and pull of the sim as it showed me it's beautiful layers of visual treasures.

The sweet sounds of Melody

I should first confess that I love fall.  The colors, sounds, smells, and the feeling of a cool breeze on my cheek, are all things that make fall one of the most amazing seasons for me.  I'm a lover of all things that happen during this season, including the landscaping and decorations that are done on the grid, during this time of the year.
This next sim is called Melody and they put together an amazing visual of the season on their land.  As I walked through, I could almost feel that cool breeze caressing my cheek and hear the crisp crunching sound of the leaves under my boots.  Photographically, they put together a treat for the eye, in the way they blended the colors together in their landscaping.  I highly recommend popping over and enjoying the hard work that went into this sim.

Fall is in the air

As the season is changing, so is the look on some of the sims.  As a reflection of real life, the sims have been changing up their seasons, creating amazing landscapes which are filled with colorful views based off of the fall palette.
Frog Hollow has set up their sim with the warm and vibrant colors of fall, with dancing leaves, bright hues in the trees and a warm sense of atmosphere surrounding this, their keen eye has paid amazing homage to this season.
Sadly, this is a temporary installation, which will end when the leaves stop falling, according to the description in their LM, so visit it while you can.

Tea Time on the Grid

While looking through my previous posts, I have noticed that I have been trending more heavily towards charming, rustic sims/areas so for today's post, I've gone more towards a sim that is very peaceful, beautifully done and leaning towards a more zen look. 
Moonlight Tea house is well done, each detail very well thought out and to just sit and enjoy the visual beauty of it, I found it extremely peaceful.  The blending of plant life with the water life is seamlessly done, with koi slowly swimming through the waters, lending graceful motion through the colorful scheme. 
With many areas that are perfect opportunities for photos, this is a fantastic area for hobby and professional photographers alike.  That being said though, for someone just looking for a spot to rest their weary selves and enjoy the visual grace and beauty of this place, you will find it both relaxing and exhilarating.

And in case you missed the link up top, here it is again! 
Moonlight Teahouse