Simploring 2018 (25) Never Totally Dead

I picked “Never Totally Dead” from scoop.it SL Destinations, again a place built as an exhibition for a store with the same name owned by Sean (Bluesean Yiyuan). The store offers old manors, historic buildings, haunted items, furniture and curiosities. The landing is on a street in front of the main store. The whole scenery is set to the 1930’s or 40’s, at least looking at the car, that is parked on the street and looking at the front of the store. The store looks really small, but it opens up in the back and is quite large actually.

Never Totally Dead – overview

I started my visit with the store. And this visit was quite enjoyable. There’s not just furniture! Walking through the rooms I passed by antique vases on podests …. and ups, they fall down and broke into pieces. Did I touch? Antique porcelain dishes falled from the wall, ghosts began to throw with paper, books and other stuffs …. a dining table was set up by magic and a turkey and a bottle of champane began to hoover above the table. Funny! Halloween is coming but not now! You can of course also buy antique furniture, clocks and other stuff, even a old manor. This visit was fun – and now I know where to get some joke articles.

Never Totally Dead – impressions from the store

Leaving the store “Never Totally Dead” and following the road you come to a manor, that is surrounded by a large garden, or is it more a palace? I went inside and it looked quite familiar. It was not the furniture that looked familiar. The manor is furnished like you would expect it from a palace and is really fitting to the outside. And of course it is mainly furnished with the furniture you can buy at the store.
Familiar for me was the layout because I saw this manor already in several other places. Now I know where I could buy this manor (I won’t). Knowing the general floor plan I found the staircase to the cellar, but in this manor you just find wine there. In the cellars of the manors I visited before in Second Life there was the more kinky stuff. Did I mention that I destroyed some vases and porcelain again during my visit to the manor?
Anway, the manor, the garden house and the surrounding park is very nice and invites to take same pictures. I had fun.

Never Totally Dead – impressions from the manor

When I had just finish my simploring tour, Mistress Jenny came inworld and I invited her over. I can tell that she had really fun with the haunted items in the store and she also recognized the floorplan of the manor.

Never Totally Dead – more impressions / Mistress Jenny and Diomita at the manor and in the store

Never Totally Dead” is a really nice setting for a store like this. It might be more expensive than just a store or selling at the marketplace. But I’m much happier to see the items in a fitting enviroment and having fun exploring. Even when you don’t buy anything, “Never Totally Dead” is worth a visit! Thank you Sean for being creative and providing some more fun and a nice environment for your store. I liked it.

Landmark to Never Totally Dead
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Enchanted%20Escapes/125/165/25

Simploring 2018 (24) Seaside Shores

Thursday, March 8th, I went simploring again and again I picked a landmark from scoop.it SL Destinations  – Seaside Shores.

Seaside Shores – overview

Seaside Shores is located on a sim named “Gentle Breezes” and owned by Rose Nitely (Rosy Highwater). I don’t know if the sim’s name is just a coincidence. It might be that Rose has choose the sim’s name. It fits!
Seaside Shores‘ landmark description is a poem:
To the beach, the sand , the waves
A summer day with no sense of hurry
Feet in the surf and the cry of the gull
Appreciating a day without worry…

Seaside Shores – at the beach

In Rose’s profile I found this short summary and invitation: “Gentle Breezes is finally open to the public for a while. Come walk the sandy shores, relax in a hotspring or climb the bluffs and wander amidst lush meadow and wooded glade. Most of all, simply enjoy what we hope may be among your favorite places to visit.

Seaside Shores – at the beach (upper) and on the hills (lower)

The landing point of Seaside Shores is in the middle of a large beach that is surrounded by a chain of hills to one side and the water on the other side. From the beach you can see some homes on the hills overlooking the beach as well as a waterfall. It all looks very peaceful. I walked along the beach, enjoyed the views, visited a beach bar. There are many places do sit together or alone, just lovely. I got a nice early taste of Summer, although I was dressed absolutely wrong.

Seaside Shores – path on the hills (upper left) / at the waterfall (upper right) / on the porch of one home (lower)

I walked up to the hills, where the atmosphere is different: everything is green, there’s a small forest, a nice path along the hills. All the homes offer nice views to the beach and again you find a lot of places to stop and sit and enjoy. I also used the ballon above the waterfall which offers another possibility to sit. The waterfall at Seaside Shores is similar to the one have our home sim “Mount Everest” (the name does not fit), ours is called “Angel Falls”.

Seaside Shores – impressions

After my walk long the hills I went down to the beach and went over to the lighthouse. I walked up just to enjoy the view from there.
Seaside Shores is a perfect place to wind down and enjoy togetherness. You can sense that it is built with love. I enjoyed my short visit a lot! Thank you Rose for providing your place to the public.

Landmark to Seaside Shores
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Seaside%20Shores/123/134/22

Simploring 2018 (22) A short visit to Acorn

My short simploring tour Thursday, March 1st, let me to Acorn. Again a landmark I picked from scoop.it SL Destinations. Acorn is first of all a shop “Original mesh for all your house & garden decor and furniture needs“. The shop and the sim is owned by Lulu Rage.

Impressions of Acorn (1) – around the landing point, upper left is an overview, lower right is the gazebo

But Acorn is more. It is again an example for combining business with a nice and beautiful environment. You don’t land at the entrance of the shop, instead you land on a nice green island, close to a gazebo. Only when you soom out, you can see the large building which is used for the shop. I first went to the gazebo and looked inside. You can purchase some of the furniture. Of course the sim is also used to exhibit Lulu Rage’s furniture and garden deco, but it is done very decent, no big boards or vendors, just small tags on the items you can buy.

Impressions of Acorn (2) – inside of the gazebo (upper left) / inside of the shop (lower left) / Diomita relaxing at Acorn (upper right) / the look-out (lower right)

The shop itself is huge and most rooms aren’t used yet. It might be that there’s more exhibition area needed soon. Although the shop building is very large and dominating the island, it does fit in the environment and does not destroy the peaceful atmosphere. I went to an overview platform and a walked over the complete island. It offers some really nice spots and views and is made with love and an eye for the detail. My short trip to Acorn was very enjoyable.
Lulu send me a message after this entry was published and told me that Acorn was was created with the help of the ever clever Neva Xenga (nevacrystall). Hence I added this credit here.

Impressions of Acorn (3)

Acorn is worth a visit, you can relax and enjoy there (and shop of course too). Thank you Lulu Rage for adding a nice environment for your shop!

Landmark to Acorn Mainstore
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Plum%20drops/122/53/21

Simploring 2018 (21) Bardeco & Kekeland

I had time for another simploring tour, Monday February 26th, and selected “Bardeco & Kekeland” from scoop.it SL Destinations. Bardeco & Kekeland is a full (moderate) sim, consisting of several islands. On the main island is a town, some parts and a larger peninsula are only land are is only developed to a lower level. But very everything is run down and looks dirty, broken and shabby. I recently found the expression “shabby vintage”, that fits to Bardecon & Kekeland as well.

Bardeco & Kekeland – overview

The sim is owner by Belle des Champs (Bridget Genna) and was built by Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fotherington). Exploring and discovering Bardeco & Kekeland takes up some time as there is a lot to see. Many of the bulidings are not just facades but you can walk in and often they are furnished down to the last detail. There are two larger bars “Bardeco’s”. One is on a seperate island, where you’ll also find an old industrial complex, a small beach and a houseboat. You reach this “Bardeco” from the town walking over a steel bridge. Just the sign “Coffee Shop” indicates that there’s a bar.

Impressions of Bardeco & Kekeland – around the landing Point

Impressions of Bardeco & Kekeland – around the “Coffee Shop”

The second Bardeco is easy to find from a bird eye’s view. It is located underneath the town and has access to the water. The entrance is at the main street though, from where you walk downstairs to the bar, which is quite cosy. I met Dandy Warhlol, who built “Bardeco & Kekeland” there and we had a short chat.

Impressions of Bardeco & Kekeland – the Bardeco underneath the town

Also worth a visit is the abandoned villa on the peninsula. It does not only look abandoned from the outside but also from inside. It reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Pyscho” villa, just the motel is not close by. There’s a thick layer of dust on the furniture and many spiderwebs. It looks as if none stepped inside for years, well done.
The little details make the difference. On my way to the abandoned villa a saw an old bicycle laying just close by the way in a bush. All these little details make Bardeco & Kekeland particular – and there’re many more, but I haven’t seen most of them.

Impressions of Bardeco & Kekeland – the abandoned “Psycho” villa

Bardeco & Kekeland offers a lot of good views for taking pictures, it offers also many possibilities to sit and watch or chat. It has the “shabby vintage” charme as well as it offers the two nice bars. And Dandy told me that they do have events in the bars sometimes.

Various impressions of Bardeco & Kekeland – the industry complex with the house boat (upper and lower left) / the brocken lighthouse (upper right) / Diomita releaxing in a backyard (lower right)

I can recommend a visit as there’s so much to see. Thank you Bridget Genna for providing the sim to everyone, thank you Terry Fotherington for building it. Well done!

Landmark to Bardeco & Kekeland
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chestnut%20Valley/128/211/31

Simploring 2018 (20) Je n’aime pas at DaphneArts

For my simploring tour on February 24th I choose to visit “Je n’aime pas” at DaphneArts. I found DaphneArts and the current exhibition at scoop.it SL Destinations  following a blog post of Kate Bergdorf also titled “Je n’aime pas”.

Je n’aime pas is a joined exhibition by Nur Moo and Hern Worsley combining a strange structure and picture into one piece of art. The structure is built on a hoovering rock. It is a steel scaffolding rising up in the air from the rock and contains 3 levels. The landing is in a container.You first don’t see the structure unless you zoom out. In the container are some pictures, the first part of this exhibition.

“Je n’aime pas” at DaphneArts – the landing point in a container

Stepping out of the container you realize that there’s more. The pictures on the 1st level are non static, they appear and disappear alternating with flurry and never are clear. In the middle of the platform you can teleport to the 2nd level where the pictures are even harder to see as they are on rotating cubes and just shining through. Finally on the 3rd level there’s no pictures, just a big trampoline.

From here you can make out the top of the structure, which is quite a fantasy entity. There are rotors that seem to keep the structure in balance and a bird sits on the top of one frame, like a left over from fauna. Sometimes you notice little pacmans floating around, do they symbolize how future began? Zooming out you can also see that the walls of the structure are covered with solar panels and that the whole structure is floating with the rock, on which it is founded, in the middle of nothing.

“Je n’aime pas” at DaphneArts – the structure (left) / the 3 exhibition floors (middle) / the “now” clock (right)

There are a few places to sit where you can relax and collect the impressions. It’s futuristic, somehow cold and repellent, yet you get drawn in trying to see the pictures, sometimes to blind out the surrounding. Kate Bergdorf summarized “Je n’aime pas” as a “large installation, spanning over three levels, containing virtual imagery, video screenings, floating pac mans, interactive poses, as well as larger constructs like metal scaffolding and a small house“.

Impressions of “Je n’aime pas” at DaphneArts (1)

For sure “Je n’aime pas” is a different approach to make use of the virtual space for arts. The structure itself is worth a visit and it offers a different way to present the pictures. Thank you Nur Moo and Hern Worsley for your exhibtion “Je n’aime pas”.

Impressions of “Je n’aime pas” at DaphneArts (2)

DaphneArts, opened in March 2016, is an art complex that features monthly exhibitions, with a strong focus on the grotesque, surreal and existential themes. It is owned by Sheldon BeRgman (sheldonbr) and Angelika Corral. You can get more information about DaphneArt and upcoming events and exhibition at their website. Thank you both for providing the gallery.

Landmark to “Je n’aime pas”
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isle%20of%20Seduction/21/194/3086
Kate Bergdorf’s blog post “Je n’aime pas”
https://katebergdorf.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/je-naime-pas/
DaphneArts website
http://www.daphnearts.com/

Simploring 2018 (19) Château de Clagny

I used scoop.it SL Destinations to select a destination for my simploring tour Friday, February 23rd, and picked Château de Clagny. It is not the first château I visited within second life, I was at the Buckingham Palace (read here) in May 2016 and I visited Angel Manor (read here) in January 2015. While the Buckingham Palace still exsists up until today (and way longer), Angel Manor is a product of fantasy with many similarities to real châteaus.

The Château de Clagny in Second Life is a reconstruction of a long lost building, demonstrating that we can visit and experience lost buildings and landmarks within virtual worlds.
“The Château de Clagny was a French country house that stood northeast of the Château de Versailles; it was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart for Madame de Montespan between 1674 and 1680. Although among the most important of the private residences designed by this great architect, it was demolished in 1769 after years of neglect. Its appearance can only be traced through the engravings made of it, and scattered references in the archives of the Bâtiments du Roi.” (from wikipedia)

When you visit the Château de Clagny in Second Life you’ll land in the central court in front of the château. Right next to the main entrance you can grab a folder full with information and some engravings of the original château.

The “French country house”, what an understatement (!), was built for Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), better known as Madame de Montespan, who was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children (from wikipedia).
The architect was Jules Hardouin-Mansart (16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708), one of the most important European architects of the seventeenth century (from wikipedia).

And now you can visit the Château de Clagny in Second Life!
The reconstruction is quite impressive. This “French country house” is huge and very luxurious. You sense the wealth already from the outside, but the inside isn’t any less luxurious. I walked through many rooms and it was like visiting a palace in the physcial world. Really amazing. The main wing and the right wing are used for living, with dining rooms, bedrooms, a chapel, meeting rooms and smaller representation rooms. In the left wing there’s a huge throne room or ball room. Attached to the right wing are private rooms. The doors were locked, hence I didn’t walk in. Attached to the left wing is the organerie. The whole palace it surrounded by a large park.

Inside of Chateau de Clagny:
Main entrance (upper left)
Chapel (upper right)
a dining room (lower left)
Orangerie (lower right)

The Château de Clagny is owned by a group named LOS TEXANOS, founded by Pixapao Xeno de Bexar (Pixapao Xeno). I don’t know if he’s the creator of Château de Clagny, I can only assume it. Looking at his profile and at other profiles, I found when looking at the objects, I assume that the palace is also used for role playing, yet I didn’t find a clear hint nor did I find advertisements for events at the Château de Clagny. Some of the inventory of the palace is for sale, but there’s also no vendor or any disturbing advertisement for it.

Some outside impressions of Château de Clagny, lower left shows the garden house

As a tourist, just enjoy the views and the luxury! I did enjoy my visit a lot and I couldn’t refrain to take a picture of myself as her majesty “Fetish Queen Diomita” in the throne room.

The throne room of Château de Clagny with “her majesty Fetish Queen Diomita” 🙂

My thank you goes to Pixapao Xeno and the LOS TEXANOS group for providing Château de Clagny to the public. I hope you can maintain the palace for many years to come.

Landmark to Château de Clagny
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antiquity%20Bexar/84/114/3802
Château de Clagny in Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Clagny
Marquise of Montespan in Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Françoise-Athénaïs_de_Rochechouart_de_Mortemart
Jules Hardouin-Mansart in Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Hardouin-Mansart

Simploring 2018 (18) La Perla – a short trip to Italy

Once again I picked the destination for my simploring tour on February 19th from scoop.it SL Destinations. I decided to make a short trip to Italy and visited La Perla, a nice and cosy old city inspired by the real city of Tropea, Italy.
“Tropea is a municipality located within the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria (southern Italy). The town is a famous bathing place, situated on a reef, in the gulf of St. Euphemia connected with the mainland by a narrow strip. It has about 6,500 inhabitants.” (source Wikipedia)

Pictures of Tropea in Italy

La Perla is owned by Addy Hax Hax (Addy Hax). From his profile I took this text about La Perla:
We are very proud to present you a beautiful italian village with its own unique mediterranean style. The idea was to present something special to the residents of Sl, based on the love for southern Italy.
Spend your holiday in SL. It´s free, it´s beautiful and it doesn´t take money to get whereever you want. What about Italy for example? La Perla is a place to relax, to have fun and to meet people from all over the world. Book your holiday now, it´s just a mouseclick away! Enjoy, explore 😉

La Perla – overview

The landmark to La Perla takes you to the central court with some shops, a gallery, a bar, and the town hall. I first visited the town hall where I saw some pictures of Tropea, Italy. That was a good start. From there I began exploring. I walked through the streets and it really felt like being in Italy.
You can walk into some of the houses and there’re some stores. The textures are selected very well and thus everything looks natural. I went to the habour and to the beach and then upstairs to the probably oldest part of La Perla which is located on the top of a steep rock. There’s another court and a church, a real romantic place and obviously it is used for weddings. For sure not the worst choice if you want to marry in SL.

Impressions of La Perla: Central Court (upper left) / Town Hall (upper right) / pictures of Tropea, Italy, shown in the the Town Hall (lower pictures)

Leaving the town I found a park or garden and a nice place to sit and dream (there are many more places for that in La Perla). From there my exploring tour led me to the mansion district. The villas are private but nice to look at from the street. From there I returned to the central court.
Hidden in a corner of a back road I discovered an erotic gallery. Oh dear, naughty Diomita seems always to find these spots *winks*.

Impressions of La Perla: in the town (upper left) / at the harbour (upper right) / at the beach (lower left) / inside of the old village (lower right)

La Perla is just beautiful and picturesque. It exsists already since 2009, yet for me it was new. There’s also a blog about La Perla.

Impressions of La Perla: the old village (upper left) / court at the old village (wedding place) (upper right) / erotic gallery (lower left) / Diomita relaxing at the public garden (lower right)

La Perla is right place for getting away from everyday life and to recover on a short virtually trip. The way Addy Hax built a little Italian town within Second Life is impressive by it’s nativeness. I really enjoyed my short trip and filled my batteries. And there’s for sure a lot more to explore and discover at La Perla.
Thank you, Addy Hax!

Landmark to La Perla
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/La%20Perla/128/91/37
La Perla blog
http://laperlasl.blogspot.de/

Simploring 2018 (16) The Silent Mind

For my simploring tour February 11th I selected The Silent Mind from scoop.it SL Destinations, which is described as “a quiet, cozy place. Everyone is welcome to spend a nice time there, whether in romantic togetherness or just to enjoy the surroundings“. The Silent Mind is a (moderate) homestead sim owned and designed by Belfana.

The Silent Mind – a quiet, cozy place

The Silent Mind is a green island with some hills, a small beach, two ponds and one group of higher rocks with a waterfall. There’re not many houses, just one residential home, a house boat and the hut, where you land when visiting The Silent Mind.
Paths lead your way over the island. The atmosphere is really peaceful, the light is natural, the colours are inviting. When exploring you begin to dream. You will discover a few animals and some of them are from a fantasy world like the mermaid horses.

The Silent Mind – an overview

Along the way are many many places to sit and to mediate or to dance or just to be with your loved one. I’m sure that I didn’t see them all and I didn’t try them out all. In Belfana’s profile I found the poster for The Silent Mind “Celebrate Love”, a motto fitting very well to this sim.

Impressions of The Silent Mind (1) – Landing hut (upper left) / Love sign (upper right) / gazebo (lower left) / beach (lower right)

A bit outstanding is a little greenhouse that peeks out of the sea, I assume that the way to is flooded due to the high tide. From there as well as from a sandbank close by you have a lovely view on the island. Another point of interest is the gazebo, the right place to dance while having a nice view over the peaceful meadows and hills.

Impressions of The Silent Mind (1) – sea house (upper left) / mermaid horses (upper right) / house boat (lower left) / waterfalls (lower right)

I enjoyed a hour of exploring, taking pictures and enjoying the peace. What a nice place, perfect for a short time-out within Second Life alone or as a couple.

Impressions of The Silent Mind (3) – Diomita enjoying quiet moments – kink meets romantic

Thank you Belfana for sharing The Silent Mind publically.

Landmark to The Silent Mind
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dalaran/105/66/25

Simploring 2018 (10) Green story (II)

After I published my simploring report about Green story on January 23rd (read here) I got a message from Annie Oh (anniebrightstar), who runs scoop.it (link is listed on the sidebar under Other links: scoop.it SL Destinations or read here). She told me that I missed a part of Green story, a part that isn’t green either but wet, and gave me a landmark to it: Green story II

You can reach Green story II either by this landmark or by a teleport hub that is close to the lighthouse of Green story but not easy to find particularly at night. This time I had still daylight and found it.

Impressions of Green Story II (1) – upper left pictures show the tp board at Green story

Green story II is in a skybox about 3.500 m above the sandbank of Green story. And it is really wet! The environment is set to night and there are many lights, light effects and fireflies – and reflections of the rain and puddles. Again Green story II is a fantasy world, a conglomerate of cosy huts and spots, of ruins and art. You really can get lost in thoughts when wandering through the rain or when you sit down and just admire the light effects. I recommend to switch the music on, it’s a radio program with piano music (at least during my visit). There are no nothern lights but the moon shines through the clouds and provides a mystic atmosphere.

Impressions of Green Story II (2)

Don’t cry when the sun is gone,
because the tears won’t let
you see the stars.
In my heart lies a memory
to tell the stars above.
I’ll never forgt meeting you here,
our love is like the wind,
I can’t see it — but I can feel it

is written on a wall just above one of the many cosy spots.

Impressions of Green Story II (3)

Green story II is a place for lovers, very romantic. There’re also several spots to dance. It’s another place to dream and to mediate, to live in your fantasy. Thank you, Dior (rich.canis) for sharing Green story and Green story II with the public. I enjoyed my second visit as much as my first!

Landmark to Green story II
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20story/193/87/3426
Landmark to Green story
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20story/194/133/23

Simploring 2018 (7) Green story

Tuesday, January 9th, I went on a simploring tour late night after Jenny had already left. I looked up scoop.it (link is listed on the sidebar under Other links: scoop.it SL Destinations or read here) and choose Green story as destination.

Green story – overview

The sim’s name “Green story” is misleading, there’s no green. Instead Green story is a larger sandbank somewhere up in the North, something that doesn’t exist in the physical world. It’s cold, it is snowing, it is windy, the sand is covered with snow where the wind hasn’t blown it off.
The island is dominated by a big lighthouse with an attached scaffold, which purpose isn’t comprehensible for me. At the foot of the lighthouse, is a small hut and from there a broken railway track leads to an old railway car, that is used as a home.

First impressions of Green story

The rest of Green story is mostly empty besides some elks and goats. On the top of the dune you’ll find a windmill. A bit away from the main sandbank is a small island with a campfire and an empty residential shed. Up in the sky is a suspension bridge held by ballons, that might connected the small island with the main island before it got loose and went up in the sky.
With the sim’s windlight settings you see northern lights everywhere that produce a very pecialatmosphere together with the permanent snow falls.

On the top and at the foot of the lighthouse at Green story

Green story is created and owned by Dior (rich.canis) as far as I could find out. The landmark description doesn’t contain too much about the creator’s intentions and ideas “You have to relax here. You have to think here. You bank here another memory.”

At Green Story: the old railway car and sitting at the campfire on the small disconnected island

Green story is pure fantasy, a mix of several fantasies, a bit like a dream that doesn’t make sense often. There’re several really cosy spots to sit and to mediate looking at the northern lights and warmed by a fire. The snow storm at the top of the scaffold is not really inviting but the view from the top is great and luckily in Second Life you don’t need to protect yourself against the cold too much.

Green story: the suspension bridge and other impressions

All the inconsistencies of Green story, of this artful creation, give reason to dream and to mediate, to let your mind wander or to simply enjoy the beauty of the northern lights and of the atmosphere.
Thank you Dior, for sharing Green story with the public. I enjoyed my visit!

Landmark to Green Story
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20story/194/133/22

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