Catching a good book and a Nom Nom in Second Life

Nom Nom Café Library, November 2023 – click any image for full size

So, Halloween has now passed, and we’re in the end-of-year headlong rush into winter, snow, sledding and suchlike, pausing briefly along the way at US Thanksgiving before we resume the annual end-of-year surge of wintertime activities. Because this time of year can feel like a whirlwind of Things To Do And To See, it is sometimes good to find the time to take a little breather and decompress – and that’s exactly what the Nom Nom Café Library allows us to do.

Occupying an 8192 square metres parcel towards the western end of Corsica, this is a place which literally stands head-and-shoulders above its surroundings, sitting as it does atop a flat-topped mesa rising some 90 metres above the nearby sea floor. The creation of Spooky Treat, Nom Nom Café Library is a cosy, autumnal (at the time of my visit – not sure if it get redressed with the passing seasons) setting some may recognise from the official Linden Lab June 2023 video demonstrating the upcoming SL Mobile viewer (as shown during the SL20B celebrations).

Nom Nom Café Library, November 2023
Between lush green trees, grass, and an abundance of flowers the Nom Nom Cafe Library awaits you. Relax inside with some delicious cake, a book, cats, or cuddle up at one of the various spots surrounding the Cafe. Bring your friends and loved ones over for a night at the campfire or simply enjoy some alone time. A refuge for not only the LGBTQIA+ community but also all allies, created with love. ♥

– Spooky Treat describing Nom Nom Café Library

Given its perch, the best way to reach the café is via SLurl / LM to the landing point, which will drop you onto the path leading up to the café itself. This takes the form of the Nicolina Pavilion by Cory Edo, which Spooky and modded a little to provide a comfortable main café space to the front, the walls to either side carrying a multitude of books which allow the café to more than adequately live up to the “library” part of its name.

Nom Nom Café Library, November 2023

A little service area towards the rear of the pavilion separates front from back, the latter providing something of a fireside snug overlooking the grounds behind the café. This view is also shared by a balcony area directly over the snug and reached via a little staircase to one side of the service counter. Within both the snug and on the balcony above, more books await avid readers as they sip their coffee or nibble on some of the treats also available.

Flanking the café to west and east, both close enough to be within easy reach but far enough to offer their own circles of restfulness, sit two outdoors spaces. One, reached via the cobble surrounding the café’s fountain, presents a little storytelling / reading circle  around a warm fire pit, marshmallows ready for roasting. A chalkboard to one side offers the opportunity for a little self-expression; just click on one of the pieces of coloured chalk and start drawing (and click between the colours to change them or click the eraser to wipe the board), and the place is friendly enough to have encouraged a couple of local crabs to forward the waterfront down below the café’s mesa and scale the rocky heights to enjoy a little fireside dance!

Nom Nom Café Library, November 2023

To the west, and reached by passing through a little arch arcing between two short walls, is a place of promised mystery: a circle of standing stones, some with hollows cut through them so small torch-like fires might be lit. A table in the middle offers a chance for repast – or it would, barring the fact turkeys and squirrels appear to be availing themselves of the meal; better then, perhaps to retire to the hammock on one side of the circle and partake of the cookies on offer there!

A further path leads outwards from this circle to reach another little round pavilion. It’s roof fitted with glass to ward off any rain that happens by, it encompasses wicker chairs and a sofa, all with plump cushions, being one of a number of additional places awaiting discovery among the trees and grasses covering the mesa’s head. So of these are easy to find, others might actually be easy to miss – so do take time to look around (and up!) carefully during a visit. For those who enjoy a friendly table-top game, the open space between the camp fire circle and the café (complete with its little celebration of Moles) might be just the ticket.

Nom Nom Café Library, November 2023

Finished with an accompanying soundscape and rich in the company of pets and critters, the Nom Nom Café Library makes for an engaging and relaxing visit!

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