Simploring 2019 (62) Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts

08 Jun 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I picked a landmark from scoop.it SL Destinations for my simploring tour on Tuesday, May28th – Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts.

“Flights of Fantasy” at Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts (or shorter Deva’s GdBA) is located in a full region on mainland named Gerstle. It is housed in a large manor that looks like a museum. The rooms ar quite large. On the first floor there’re several rooms, the second floor is just one big room, that is used also for events and dancing.

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts: The Sirens – Jaz (Jessamine2108) / Wings- Saz Ninetails / Introduction “Flights of Fantasy” / Airship Pirate – SeleneLily Galicia

The art at Deva’s GdBA changes every 3months. The latest exhibition was opened on Sunday 26th May and is titled “Flights of Fantasy”. It features 22 pictures from 19 different artists: Leo Beverly (Leonorah Beverly), Razor Cure, SeleneLily Galicia, Gidgy (Gidgette Adagio), AmandaSue Hallison, Jaz (Jessamine2108), Wynn Klaar, Broderick Logan (brodericklogan), Ena Logan (enaroane), Tralala Loordes, Skye McLeod Fairywren (Skye Fairywren), Saz Ninetails, Doyle Slen (beastmcstien), Ulf Winterwolf (ulfnir winterwolf), Liz Winterstorm (tinliz), Petrushka Petrov, Rya Santana (smalldoll), Clive Yardley and Deva Westland herself.

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts: Ice Is The Color – Doyle Slen (beastmcstien) / We elvish types… – Skye McLeod Fairywren (Skye Fairywren) / Whales – Clive Yardley / Flight of Silence – Liz Winterstorm (tinliz)

“Welcome to Second Life … where you can grow wings and fly, where your legs can disappear in place of a tail. This is the place you can let your fantasies run, of fly free! This is the place where our only limitation is our imagination!” … is written on one wall of the the first room when you enter Deva’s GdBA and the current exhibition “Flights of Fantasy”

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts: Drone- Tralala Loordes / The Monolithic – Razor Cure / Futureproof – Ulf Winterwolf (ulfnir winterwolf) / From the Soil – Gidgy (Gidgette Adagio)

Of course all exhibited pictures are about fantasy. Each picture is presented with enough room, so you can step back and fully look at it. Next to each picture is a plate with the artitst name that contains a notecard with information about the artist, the exhibited picture and related links like flickr streams. Mainly Deva has written these notecards herself, some are written by the artists.

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts: Stay lost with you – Ena Logan (enaroane) / The Power Of Books – Leo Beverly (Leonorah Beverly) / In The End – AmandaSue Hallison / In the dance of magic – Deva Westland

I didn’t come across any of these artists, maybe because I follow different passions in my Second Life. Nonetheless Deva succeeded to pull me a bit into fantasy worlds and to enjoy the different worlds. In the pictures itself and in the texts about them and about the artists I could feel the passion for fantasy of Deva and the other artists.

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts: Time Is A Valuable Thing – Broderick Logan (brodericklogan) / Fallen – Wynn Klaar / Kingdom Come – Petrushka Petrov / Walking through the Dragon’s Realm – Rya Santana (smalldoll)

Close to the entrance are some slideshows titled Winter 2017 or Warmth 2018. I assume these sildeshows show the pictures of former exhibtions at Deva’s GdBA.

Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts: Nightmares – Deva Westland / more impressions of the gallery and of the current exhibition “Flight of Fantasy”

I enjoyed my visit to “Flights of Fantasy”, some pictures warmed my heart. Thank you Deva for curating the Galerie Des Beaux-Arts and for collecting all the information. I strongly recommend to read the notecards while looking at the the pictures as they provide the background or the intentions of the artists. And they provide the related links if you want to see more.

Landmark to Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gerstle/182/152/31
Deva Westland’s blog “DevaStatingSL – Opinionated travels through Second Life”
https://devastatingsl.wordpress.com/

Simploring 2019 (61) Killary

06 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Tuesday, May 21st, I picked “Killary” from scoop.it SL Destinations. Killary is a moderate homestead owned by Morena Tully. I want to start this simploring tour with the text from the landmark’s description:
“Inspired by the scenic, quiet beauty of Killary Fjord in Western Ireland. No pubs, no Intans, just simple, peaceful, irish nature. Unwind, relax. Take a picture or two. Please keep your clothes on, and don’t harass the sheep!“

I visited Western Ireland myself a few years ago. The rough beauty in combination with the loneliness impressed me. During my visit it was cloudy and rained a bit which caused a very particular atmosphere.

Impressions of Western Ireland … Location of Killary Fjord

Morena’s description fit’s perfectly to what she created within Second Life. There’s almost nothing to explore or discover in Killary at first glance. Looking around at the landing point you see nothing but a meagre rough island, some hills, sheep, water and in the background a church spire. I began hiking and the peace of this place immediately warmed my heart. And there’s something to discover at second glance. There’re the ruins of a chapel and a stall, there’s the stone circle with a tree in the centre on the top of a hill, there’re a few places to sit and inhale the strange beauty of the place, there’re peacefully grazing sheeps, you can even see some ducks swimming.

Impressions of Killary (1) – around the landing point

At one end of Killary sits a lonely man looking out over the water. Morena also added 2 pieces of Bryn Oh, the Wasp Angel and a teddy. Clicking the teddy leads to a machima video of Bryn titled “Gretchen and Teddy“. In her profile you can read why these pieces of art are important for Morena:
“I have such admiration for Bryn Oh, and her work. Things she has created have touched my SL in ways that can’t begin to be be described. She embodies the extreme end of the spectrum of what SL is meant to be, for me.”

Impressions of Killary (2) – the mediating man / Bryn Oh’s teddy and wasp angel

I also discovered 2 chests (I might not have found all of them), which contain questions to think about. I failed giving the right answer but the questions themselves give reason to think. I sat down at a few spots and enjoyed the peace. I think that the secret of Killary is that it is not overlaoded with many buildings or features or activities. The few things to discover and to do stand out way more this way.

Impressions of Killary (3) – enjoying the peace

Morena is in Second Life for over 13 years and she wrote in her profile that Killary might be the last sim she built, her retirement home, simple, minimalist and easy. She added: “Sometimes it’s ok for a place to be… just a place.”
In her profile Morena Tully also wrote why she’s still in Second Life after all these years:
“You would think after all the time I’ve been here, I’d be bored or burned out. It’s true I’ve mostly been there, done that, but each experience is new, every day is a different day, and I never know what will happen…. SL will always have new frontiers … Why would I ever want to leave?”
That fits for me and my SL as well.

Impressions of Killary (4)

Thank you very much for sharing your place with the public, Morena. I enjoyed my visit a lot!

Landmark to Killary
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Buttercup/125/208/24
Gretchen and Teddy from Bryn Oh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9i0ZAm6-uA

Simploring 2019 (59) Missing Melody – May 2019

27 May 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

In January I visited Missing Melody (read Simploring 2019 (5) Missing Melody). When I saw posts and pictures about it on scoop.it SL Destinations recently I only recognized the name but not the sim itself, that has changed completely. Hence I decided to visit it again.

Missing Melody – May 2019 – overview and first impressions

Missing Melody is a moderate homestead owned by Bambi (norahbrent). The landmark description has changed as well as the whole design:
“Missing Melody. Waking up to a new dawn. Smiling at the awaking sun humming a nostalgic tune. Missing Melody is a collaboration of best friends coming together to create something new. Dedicated with love to Conni. RIP“

Impressions of Missing Melody – May 2019 (1)

In the center of Missing Melody is a row of 4 houses, a market with some stands, a cafe, some cars, a street and a promenade. Closeby is a large beach with a wooden pier that is home to a small fair. The whole setting looks quite Mediterrean. There’re 3 smaller islands. One seems to be a private home and I didn’t look inside.

Missing Melody is very picturesque and invites to stay, to take pictures, to enjoy a cafe, to have a closer look at all the details on the market, to sit and relax at the beach or to simply enjoy an hour in a little paradise.

Impressions of Missing Melody – May 2019 (2)

One of the three islands nearby is home for a gallery, Conni’s RIP gallery. Bambi writes about Conni and this gallery in her profile:
“On the hill surrounded by flowers in bloom lays a country house safely watching over to Missing Melody. Conni’s house is now a gallery dedicated in her memory. Please feel free to visit. Look at her art, read the little memories her friends and loved ones shared. You can add your own memory in the guest book. The gallery will be the only thing that will remain as is in Missing Melody.“

Impressions of Missing Melody – May 2019 (3)

Of course I visited the gallery. It is touching to read in the guest book and to see all the pictures. You can sense all the happy hours spent in Second Life. It is another way to keep the memories of this virtual world in our real life. The orginal landmark description from my first visit to Missing Melody back in January can now be found in Bambi’s profile and fits very well:
“What is a Missing Melody? It’s that song in your head that you can’t get out but not sure how it really goes. It’s that temptation you want to have in your life so you can fight to resist. It’s that place in your heart that is always waiting to be filled.“

Impressions of Conni’s RIP Gallery at Missing Melody

Missing Melody did conjure a smile on my face. I enjoyed my visit and I might visit again, just to enjoy. Thank you Bambi for creating this new sim and sharing it with the public.

Landmark to Missing Melody
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aftershock/87/128/33
Direct Landmark to Conni’s RIP gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aftershock/186/169/23
Flickr page for Missing melody
https://www.flickr.com/groups/ohdeercafe/pool/

Simploring 2019 (58) Black Kite

23 May 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Saturday, May 11th, I selected “Black Kite“, which exsists since 2011 (just like our own homesim). Accordingly there’re quite some blog posts about it already. Nonetheless I had never heard about it before until I came across it on scoop.it SL Destinations.

Black Kite – overview and around the landing point (pictures taken with the original windlight setting)

Black Kite is an adult homestead owned by Cloudy (theblackcloud Oh), it is her home. There’s a private corner and you’re kindly asked to resepct it. Also flying above 300 m height is unwanted. You are visiting as a guest. It is also home for her friend iBi (8f8)’s store “8f8 Creations”, which offers a broad variety of decorations and a bit of everything at Black Kite. On the marketplace, 8f8 also offers male clothing.

Impressions of Black Kite (1) – lower right picture shows the 8f8 creations store

Upon your landing you stand in water up to the ankely. You should either wear gumboots or have a towel with you. The windlight setting of Black Kite is selected thoughtfully and provides an artful almost fairy-tale atmosphere. Unfortunally due to a malfunction of my viewer, the stars in the sky appear as black dots and therefore I selected another windlight setting for most of my pictures. I also tried setting midnight, a setting where you will see special light effects provided by Cloudy. I strongly recommend to switch to midnight at least for some views.

Impressions of Black Kite (2)

From the landing point you can choose to turn left or right to reach the wooden paths that will allow you exploring Black Kite on dry foot. But inbetween you have to walk through water. Besides the store there are containers along the wooden paths. Most of them are artfully and stylish decorated hideaways offering seats, chairs and beds with single and couple and adult animations. There’s a lot to discover, pieces of art and artful decorations and lights are spread all over the sim.

Impressions of Black Kite (3)

There’s of course also a kite – “go fly a kite” is the subtitle of the sim. You can’t miss the the kite but I couldn’t fly one. Maybe I just didn’t find out how to. Instead I flew myself (thanks to the magic of Second life), which provides a total different view on Black Kite with amazing views.

Impressions of Black Kite (4) – left side pictures with windlight setting “Midnight”, right pictures show a comparison between the original windlight setting and “Midnight”

While I was simploring Black Kite, Mistress Jenny came inworld and we used one of the containers to cuddle and talk and to enjoy the view. I took some nice close-up pictures of Mistress and me.

Impressions of Black Kite (5) – enjoying some togetherness with Mistress Jenny

Black Kite is a romantic fairy-tale place which offers a lot of opportunities for taking pictures, enjoying creative art and to retreat with your loved one. Thank you Cloudy (theblackcloud Oh) for sharing your place with the public for so many years already!

Landmark to Black Kite
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Black%20Kite/140/111/21
8f8 Creations on the marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/123815

Simploring 2019 (57) Sofia in Springtime

19 May 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

For my simploring tour on May 8th I picked “Sofia” from scoop.it SL Destinations. Sofia is a moderate homestead owned by Agaras. There’s no real landmark description, just one word “Springtime”. And the sim is designed for Spring.

Impressions of Sofia: around the landing point and sim overview

Sofia is an island with no simsurround, just on one side there’re mountains in the background. The landing point is almost in the center, close to a large pond and to a sign “Sofia” with the word S p r i n g above it. The sun rays are broken by the wet air and dive the environment in a lovely atmosphere. The region windlight is nice but I personally prefer my standard Setting and used it for my pictures.

Impressions of Sofia in Springtime (1)

Sofia is first of all a sim to enjoy the nature. There’re many flowerbeds and nature seemingly explodes to life. Birds circle steadily over the sim. You can find rabbits, horses and deers peacefully grazing. Sometimes you see a trail like the one leading to a bridge. This trail is lined with lavender, lovely! Along the pond you find several places to sit and relax or to cuddle with your loved one.

Impressions of Sofia in Springtime (2)

I found only 3 buildings at Sofia. The above mentioned trail leads to the biggest house named “Chez Niki”. Before you reach it, you come along several rows of wine grapes. Chez Niki is furnished inside and offers a romatic place to sit inside as well as outside. The other 2 buildings are a small hut which I named “heart hut” because of the heart above the entrance and a gazebo to dance. Apropos dancing: You’ll find quite some places to dance at Sofia, mostly outdoor. Instead of the usual intan ball on a pole, the intan animations are provided by the sculpture of a dancing couple.
I also found several pieces of art scattered over the island, I tried some of the offered places to sit and I enjoyed Spring and all the flowers.

Impressions of Sofia in Springtime (3)

Sofia is the perfect place to retreat for a romantic date. The views are great and Spring is a very particular season as everything comes to life again and we humans also kind of wake up every year in Spring, enjoying the first warm days, going out without a thick coat, without freezing. Agaras profile has the according quote to express it:
“If you once realize that to-morrow, if not to-day, you will die and nothing will be left of you, everything becomes insignificant! (Leo Tolstoy)“.
Hence live now and today, enjoy Spring, smell the flowers.

Impressions of Sofia in Springtime (4)

Thank you for providing Sofia to the public, Agaras. I really enjoyed exploring it and the particular atmosphere of Spring.

Landmark to Sofia
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Starlight%20Shores/63/152/25

Simploring 2019 (55) Green Story (III) – Beach

14 May 2019 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

“Welcome.
You will meet rain, snow, and sea.
take a breather from here
pause to think
walk at a slow time…
Green Story”

With these words you’re greeted when you enter Green Story. I visited Green story in 2018 the first time (read: Simploring 2018 (7) Green Story). After publishing my simploring report I got a hint from Annie Oh (anniebrightstar) that there’s another part of Green Story and I went exploring this wet part (read: Simploring 2018 (10) Green story (II)).

Green Story (III) Beach – Overview and around the landing point.

Inspired by seeing new posts about Green Story on scoop.it SL Destinations I went revisiting on Sunday, April 28th. In fact not much has changed. The snowy part with the many aurora borealis, which I visited first in 2018, is more or less unchanged, same goes for the second and wet part of Green Story. What’s new is that there’s a third part now. The three parts are named Aurora, Rain and Beach and can be reached by a teleport board, which is not as difficult to find then it was back in 2018. This said the welcome letter makes sense … rain, snow and sea.

Impressions of my enjoyable visit to Green Story (III) Beach

I focused on the Beach, as this was new for me. It’s what you’d expect from the name a large sandbank with an according long beach. There’re some tents, a salespoint for ice cream, a surf school and some scattered places to relax and enjoy the atmosphere and the sun. I followed the thought which Dior (Rich Canis), creator and owner of Green Story, wrote into the landmark’s description “You have to relax here. You have to think here. You Banks here Another memory.“

More impressions of my enjoyable visit to Green Story (III) Beach

A great beach to relax be it alone or with friends or with your love. Thank you Dior for creating this 3rd part and for sharing Green Story with the public.

Landmark to Green Story – Beach
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20story/106/179/3693
P.S.: the provided Landmark leads to the teleport board at the Beach, from there you can easily visit the others parts Aurora and Rain

Simploring 2019 (54) The Wastelands

10 May 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

I came across The Wastelands once again looking up scoop.it SL Destinations. I admit, that I’m surprised what corners of Second Life I haven’t seen yet or even more never heard about. The Wastelands is huge, a full moderate region with several homesteads connected to it. I first wanted to create an overview map but then it was simple to large.

The landing is in an underground bunker where you can get some information and more. The Wastelands is an apocalyptic residential area. It exists for over 12 (!) years (and I never heard about it before!). Once you leave the bunker and enter the daylight you’ll see that The Wastelands consists of ruined shops, makeshift homes, broken buildings, sand-strewn streets, and rusting, twisted tracks of a long-abandoned railroad. I thought I could grab an information notecard but you get even more, if you’re interested. The Wastelands have an own wiki.

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (1)

The Wastelands is owned by NeoBokrug Elytis who says about himself: “I’m the estate owner of The Wastelands, but I’d rather think of myself as it’s curator instead. After all, it’s the residents who create the place, I just manage it and it’s community.“

Being a bit lazy and overwhelmed by the information available about The Wastelands, I’ll just quote some essential paragraphs from the main page of the Wastelands wiki.

“In our parched deserts, rocky expanses, and rank swamps, you’ll find beautifully ruined buildings, precarious shacks, and mysterious assemblages of abandoned material, most of it created by the people who live here. From hidden underground bunkers to teetering swamp huts on stilts, from burnt-out vehicles to nomad’s tents, from helicopter concert stages to trap-ridden combat pits to ball courts to trade posts to working drive-in movie theaters, The Wastelands is filled with creative, detailed constructions.”

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (2)

“Perhaps the most famous and popular feature of The Wastelands, however, is the combat and salvage game. After “purchasing” and wearing your 100% free Wastelands HUD (remark: you can get it in the bunker where you arrive), you can scavenge the land for crates containing useful scrap. This scrap can be taken to the Salvage Machines, where — if you lay down a valid combination of items — it combines them into one new item. These new items can be combined as well, meaning Wastelanders can craft complex recipes for weapons, armor, belts, and more.”

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (3)

Although roleplay might be the heart of The Wastelands, it is not obligatory. In fact upon arriving I was welcomed by a greeting bot who explicitly invited me also jsut to visit for taking pictures or for getting an inpression about the The Wastelands. If you join the roleplay though, remember that using weapons or similar items that aren’t made within The Wastelands isn’t allowed.

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (4)

I wandered about an hour over The Wastelands and I was lost soon. There’s way too much to see and discover, hence what I got was just a tiny first impression. The buildings, the tents, the camps, everthing is build with love for the (apocalyptic) detail. Some places did make me smile, like the fish store, that really stood out or the apocalyptic McDonalds. There’re several stages for events. And the sound and the music channel changes constantly as you cross the different plots. It was really fun to see this all.

Impressions of “The Wastelands” (5)

Combat roleplays are not my cup of tea and I don’t find enough time to really get into roleplays with a specific background and rules. But The Wastelands is worth seeing it and offeres unlimited backgrounds and views for intriguing pictures. I really enjoyed my short visit and am happy that I now know about The Wastelands. Thank you, NeoBokrug Elytis, for being the estate owner and for curating The Wastelands. It must be a lot of work!

Landmark to The Wastelands
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Wastelands/135/151/66
The Wastelands wiki
http://wiki.the-wastelands.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Simploring 2019 (53) Black Mire – around hi-cafe

06 May 2019 2 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Wednesday, April 24th, I selected “hi-cafe” from scoop.it SL Destinations.

Overview Black Mire – around hi-cafe

The hi-cafe is center parcel 3 parcels on the mainland region Black Mire. The 3 parcels “+AND OR NOT+”, owned by ʢあほうどりʡ (8asuka8), “hi-cafe“, owned by hitsu Ruby, and “*suzuya* Mainstore”, owned by .ʚすずɞ. (Suzurin Karu) build a coherent unit around a canal.

Impressions of hi-cafe (1)

The landing point is just opposite of the hi-cafe, where you can sit and talk or where you can enjoy all the little details in the cafe itself. The hi-cafe is really worth a visit. I saw already many cafes in Second Life, but this one is for sure amoung the best I saw so far. Well done! I enjoyed just sitting there for a while before I continured exploring. All three parcels are dominted by blooming cherry trees, it almost smells like Spring. Quite close to the cafe you can rent some bikes.

Impressions of hi-cafe (2)

The parcels are separated be arcades. I first visted “+AND OR NOT+” and honestly, besides that it looks lovely, I don’t know what it is about. There’s an ice cafe and some opportunites to sit outside. In one of the buildings there’s a showcase, but you can’t buy anything and in the back of that building is another part of the ice cafe. The second building is empty right now. It might be that I visited just when a refurbishment was under way.

Impressions of “+AND OR NOT+”

On the other side of the hi-cafe is the *suzuya* Mainstore, that offers make-up for Catwa and 6doo heads. The shop consits of a few vendors boards that fit very well into the environment and hence do not disturb the whole look and feel of the 3 parcels. At the end is a greenhouse with a snak bar inside.

Impressions of *suzuya* Mainstore

There’re some little details to discover, like the cats which have fun playing with butterflies or like the litte corner of a street musician next to a fountain. Overall the 3 parcels offer nice opportunities to take pictures in a lovely Spring environment. I mostly kept the provided windlight setting and just switched to my favourite windlight “Annan Adored Realistic ambient” for a few pictures with switched on “Sun/Moon”. Due to the many trees providing shadows, turning them one makes no sense in most cases.

More impressions of Black Mire – around hi-cafe

hicafe and it’s adjacent parcels “+AND OR NOT+” and *suzuya* Mainstore build a nice unit, that is really worth a visit. I enjoyed my trip. Thank you , hitsu Ruby, ʢあほうどりʡ (8asuka8) and .ʚすずɞ. (Suzurin Karu) for providing your place to the public!

Landmark to Black Mire – hi-cafe
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Black%20Mire/11/130/22

Simploring 2019 (50) Maderia Springs

24 Apr 2019 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

Once again I picked the destinazion for my simploring tour on Thursday, April 11th, from scoop.it SL Destinations. There’re already a lot of blog posts about Maderia Springs and just lately I saw it again. Time for me to visit myself.

Impressions of Maderia Springs (1) – orientation map, fishing hut and manor

Maderia Springs is a moderate homestead owned by Thaihiti Baroque. According to the landmark profile it is a place to hang out, to enjoy the peaceful scenery and to take great photos. And it is just this and it is fun to explore it. Maderia Springs is set to Spring now, the flowers are blooming, in particular some cherry trees were just blooming during my visit (as in my garden right now). The whole setting seems to be Mediterrean with a British and American touch.

Impressions of Maderia Springs (2) – the manor

The landing is on a road the leads to a fishing hut. If you walk in the other direction you’ll get to large residential house, that I named “Manor” in my orientation map. What caught my eye immediately is the lovely seperate garden at one side of the manor, surrounded by stones. Besides this seperate garden the whole garden is decorated with love for the detail. Just beautiful.

Impressions of Maderia Springs (3) – the cafe

My next stop was the cafe. You recognize it easily by the French truck in front of it which offers cakes and more. There are some tables outside to sit. Inside is a large kitchen and a living room. The kitchen did impress me with all the little details. Even the pans on the kitchen stove were filled with food. And the backyard once again offers nice views.

Impressions of Maderia Springs (4) – Summer hut and Chapel & Event

Close to the cafe is a flower store. Again I was impressed by the many details and enjoyed looking at it. The whole sim radiates a particular atmosphere. Walking to the shore I came to a hut with a pier, that seems to be another fishing hut. I called it “Summer hut” and took a break enjoying the the views.

Impressions of Maderia Springs (5) – Shepard’s house and Farm market

My next stop was the chapel. It’s more a place for weddings then for services and the chapel is decorated for weddings. Nearby is a place to celebrate and for the reception with fingerfood and drinks. Did I mention the blooming cherry trees already?

Impressions of Maderia Springs (6) – Garage and Picnic

I continued my exploring tour on the other side of Maderia Springs and walked over to what looks like a farm. Sheeps and cows are grazing peacefull there and on the hill is a house. It doesn’t look like a ranch or farm, hence I decided that must be the place where the shepard lives and named it “Shepard’s house”. But there’s even more to discover at Maderia Springs. Walking back to the manor I came across some ducks that were swimming in an inlet. I saw horses and a nice farm market. I saw a picnic place with the opportunity to sit or to retreat under a shabby tent. And I finally saw a garage and camping place.

A visit to Thaino Designs, the shop of Thaihiti Baroque (owner of Maderia Springs)

Maderia Springs is a lovely sim, very well done and perfectly decorated. I just love the Spring setting. And I really appreciate that it is fully public. Thaihiti Baroque is also the owner and designer of Thaino DesignS, a shop for shabby chic, upcycled, distressed furniture and decor, for garden items, flowers and plants and much more. I went over to the store and had a look. At least some of the items you can buy there are also used at Maderia Springs (no surprise!) like the stand for the flowers.

Thank you Thaihiti for sharing Maderia Springs with the public. I did enjoy my tour!

Landmark to Maderia Springs
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Maderia%20Springs/178/124/20
Thaino Designs (Thaihiti Baroque’s shop)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dark%20Passion/134/91/25

Simploring 2019 (49) HoPe

23 Apr 2019 4 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , ,

For my simploring tour on Wednesday, April 10th, I picked HoPe from scoop.it SL Destinations. HoPe is an adult homestead owned by Fred Hamilton (frecoi). According to the two blog posts already published when I visited, also Lotus Mastroianni is owning HoPe. I checked Lotus’ and Fred’s profile but I couldn’t find any hint. What I did check is that many objects at HoPe are owned by Lotus Mastroianni.

Impressions of HoPe (1) – overview and around the landing point

The landmark description consists just of one sentence: “The World wouldn’t die without the Humankind.” HoPe is a sunken city, giving us a picture of how the world might look like when humans have left. All streets are broken, the buildings are ruins, some are in better order, some are fully broken and fallen apart. Trees and bushes grow from every crack, car wrecks block the streets. You need good and waterproof footwear for exploring as you’ll walk through puddles and water and you’ll have to climb over blocks of concrete. It’s an apocalyptic scenario.

Impressions of HoPe (2) – inside a building (upper pictures) / and outside (lower pictures)

There’re some eye catchers and curiosities at HoPe. Right close to the landing point you see a big and broken statue of a boy swimming on the water, some birds sit on it as if they have conquered it. Walking through the streets you see old bill boards, graffiti on the facades and of course a lot of broken windows. I walked inside of some buildings, just trees and bushes are inside, no left over furniture or other objects. In one building the lights were still switched on – I wonder where the power for the lights comes from.

Impressions of HoPe (3) – exploring HoPe (upper pictures) / the plane wreck (lower pictures)

Around the city there once was an elevated highway that it now brocken into pieces, some pieces stick out like after an earthquake. And there’re also cars and trucks on the rests of the elevated highway, just as if there was a sudden catastrophy. Another curiosity is a building shell for what might have become an office building. There’s still a hoarding around it and many building machines which look quite functional. I entered the worksite and walked upstairs. From the higher stories you have a good view over the abandoned city. And there’re many cats, who have taken over the place. It conjured a smile on my face watching them.

Impressions of HoPe (4) – the building shell and the cats

What happened to this city? Was it an earthquake? A tsunami? And how long ago was this catastrophy? According to the vagetation the catastrophy must have been decades ago. Where does the wreck of an airplane came from, that you find in one of the streets? And why is it that the building shell looks that intact? These questions will remain unanswered.
And what does HoPe stand for? For the hope that the world won’t die even without humans? Or for the hope that the mankind will avoid such a catastrophy? Or is it an abbreviation of two terms Ho & Pe? Hotel Peter?

Impressions of HoPe (5)

Anyway, HoPe is a place to explore and discover. It offers an apocalyptic background for photographs and many details to explore. The whole scene together with the sentence “The World wouldn’t die without the Humankind.” gives reason for many thoughts. And last but not least the building shell with the cats is fun.

Thank you Fred Hamilton (frecoi) and Lotus Mastroianni for providing HoPe and for sharing it with the public!

Landmark to HoPe
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Syn%20Isles/204/132/22
HoPe on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/groups/-hope-/

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