It was sort-of back on the road in Mainland for me after catching a Tweet from Hico Spicy concerning her Hi-Café, tucked away on the northern arc of Heterocera’s Route 3. This is an utterly charming little corner of SL, lovingly packed into less that 1,500 sq metres to present a restful environment rich in colour and with a sense of fun, ideal for relaxing within and take photos.
With the rainy season at hi-cafe over, the season has shifted from hydrangeas to sunflowers! I hope you can enjoy the full-on summer atmosphere
– From Hico’s Tweet
Set a little back from the main road, the café / bakery offers its own bus stop, with two entrances to its garden space, the smaller passing by way of a newspaper and magazine stand to the one side of the building, and a larger one complete with a greeting to the regions the café is both with and faces, whilst leading to the other side.
Being effectively double-front in design, the building – which is of Hico’s own design and available in her Marketplace store – naturally lends itself to something of a mirrored setting, with brick-edged paths bordering it to either side which are in turn bordering by long, rectangular ponds.
The footpaths contrast nicely with the paving of the courtyard within which the café sits, whilst the trees lined up between each path and pond provide welcome shade.
The setting is surrounded by brick walls, giving it a nice sense of calm and separation from its surrounding without feeling overly enclosed. Even the tall viaduct-like bridge marking the back of the setting fits well with the scene, both blending with the trees and providing an arched space before which an aged tree grows, bench seating and a busker’s music stand under its spreading branches.
Given the paved nature of the courtyard, the majority of the trees have been trained up through tree grates which are also home to many of the sunflowers that give bright bursts of colour to the place, and which can be found in brick-built planters and the brick-retained front garden space.
Further depth is given to the setting through the use of signs and advertising boards, splashes of graffiti on the surrounding walls and the richness of the décor in and around the café. I couldn’t help but smile at a lot of the signage, such as the chalkboard noting that Our coffee is an experience that chalk is unable to convey.
Cats appear to be the overlords here as well; they keep an eye on things from various vantage points, and one appears to be prepared to help out in cleaning up dropped ice cream cones – although admittedly, the cherry which presumably once topped the ice cream is the centre of his attention.
A cosy, memorable place to visit – limited rezzing for photographic is available via joining the local group, but please do clean-up when done!
Slurl Details
- Hi-Café (Sprawler, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 