Category: Exploring Second Life

Crystal Garden Estates – click any image for full size

Crystal Garden Estates is another semi-regular stop-over for me on my rounds of the grid. Designed by Sandi (Sandi Benelli) and her partner Mikal Beaumont, this Homestead region undergoes semi-regular makeovers by Sandi and Mikal, with each offering a new place to visit.

The last time I blogged the region, in July 2015, it had a Mediterranean look and feel, with berths for power and sailing boats all under a summer’s sky. However, as that was a good while ago, I was curious to see how things looked as we make our towards summer 2017; so Caitlyn and I recently hopped over for a look, coincidentally bumping into Sandi and Mikal as we arrived, just as they were tweaking one or two things before heading off to enjoy some in-world music.

Crystal Garden Estates

While the summer feel to the region, and the boat moorings are still evident, this latest iteration of Crystal Gardens Estates offers the look and feel of a more temperate zone this time around. The land has been divided into three large islands, running north-to-south, with a smaller, rounded island to the north-west, while a lighthouse-laden rocky outcrop completed the group. Separated one from the next by narrow channels of water, the three largest islands offer a collective landscape of tall trees, summer walks among sprays of flowers, and many places both indoors and out, where visitors can pass the time.

A visit begins on the west side of the island, on a wooden dock where two boats are berthed. A canvas-sided pergola sits at one end of the dock, offering a place to relax, while close by sits a comfortable little house built on stilts to extend out over the water from a rocky base. Beyond this, the island’s rocky southern headland offers a look-out point with a view of the offshore lighthouse. With a kid’s play tent ( a blanket spread over a line between two trees), dogs playing on the course grass and the waterside spots for taking things easy, this has the feel of being a holiday getaway, rather than a place of year-round abode.

Crystal Garden Estates

Another house, more substantial in size, sits to the north, close to where a bridge reaches out to the middle of the three islands. Also raised up on a stout deck, the house looks out over the curve of a  sandy beach, the boards stacked against its whitewashed wall suggesting it might be the holiday home for keen surfers.

Across the bridge, the middle of the three islands is home to a third cottage, which shares its waterside location with a trio of summer huts. A loose-laid board walk meanders southwards from the cottage passing a barn converted into a bar to one side and an octagonal pergola to the other, before arriving at another beach. Two bridges span the watery divide between this and the easternmost island. This has a slightly wilder feel to it, with tall pines under which a camp site sits and deer, foxes and wolves roam, while the rocky sweep of the northern shore is crossed by a raised wooden walk.

Crystal Garden Estates

The entire feel of these islands is that of a secret vacation spot; a place those in the know can slip away to and spend time forgetting about work and the rest of the world. This impression is heightened by the last of the islands in the group. Circular in form, its shape suggests a small crater with a partially flooded. More wooden walkways occupy this little spot, running around the basin and raised on stilts above the water, or straddling the rim. They link together a small cluster of thatched roof pergolas where visitors can relax, chat, dance or wander under ivy weaved trestles.

I’ve always enjoyed my visits to Crystal Garden Estates, and this latest one was no exception. The little archipelago offers much without in any way being overdone. There is plenty of room to wander, many places to sit and relax, both indoors and out; there are horses to ride and snuggles spots for cosier times with a loved one. For those so inclined, there’s even a drinking game to be found in the bar!

Crystal Garden Estates

Rich in natural colour thanks to the considered use of wild flowers, and set beneath and dusky sky, the region is genuinely photogenic and very much an ideal visit.

SLurl Details

• Crystal Garden Estates (Quararibea Cordata Island, rated: moderate)

Furillen, Pandora Empire – click any image for full size

Furillen, the atmospheric region designed by Serene Footman, has a new home in the full region of Pandora Empire. With the move comes another new design, one which sits both on the ground and up in the air over the region.

The ground level continues to reflect Furillen’s origins: an island off the north-east coast of Gotland, Sweden. In doing so, it retains the same misted, desolate beauty of previous builds, complete with a shell of the limestone factory and the hotel which now occupies the physical world island. However, with this iteration of the design, the factory footprint has been reduced and the hotel has a new, more homely look and feel.

Furillen, Pandora Empire

Further afield can be found other reminders of the original Furillen build: the crane over the water, the hoppers, the caravan. But so to are there new places to explore, such as the fishing village in the north-east corner of the region or the club close to the old factory tower. These aspects, old and new, combine to offer a familiar but new look to the island which encourages fresh exploration.

But it is in the sky where things get even more interesting. A teleport disk near the landing point offers access, and the names of some of the destinations – penguin, joker, catwoman, riddler, batcave – offer hints as to what awaits visitors when teleporting, although I recommend that on a first visit, you head from somewhere like the square, as this will allow you to experience things more fully, delivering you to a town square.

Furillen, Pandora Empire

Seen under the same region windlight as the rest of the region, this cityscape also works under a range of daytime and night-time settings. In case you hadn’t already worked it out from the destination names above, this urban environment is a homage to Batman, from the comics, through the 1960s TV series to the more films of Keaton, Kilmer and Bale et al. However, it is not a homage that should perhaps be taken too seriously, as some of the visuals clues seem to suggest (such as the The Dork Knight club).

That said, the attention to detail is impressive, and fans of Batman will find a visit a treat, with plenty of nods to the entire franchise from familiar names such as Sionis Industries, Arkham Asylum and the Gotham Gazette.  Nor is this just a surface homage; follow the teleport disk around and there is plenty more to find from the Batcave (complete with the different generations of Batmobile), to the underground lair of the Penguin, to the more homely setting of Selena Kyle’s apartment.

Furillen, Pandora Empire

And that’s just the start of things – but to reveal everything would be to spoil the surprise of discovery. This is a place which deserves time and exploration, and not just by teleport disk. Look closely enough, and there are secret ways to be found: tunnels and passages, all of which connect street level to a network of underground locations.

I’ve always enjoyed my visits to Furillen; each iteration – from the initial build, through the homage to Pink Floyd, to the reinterpretation of La Digue du Braek – Serene Footman has always offered unique and intriguing builds for people to visit. In its new home, and in this form, Furillen continues to do just that. When visiting, keep an eye out for the art gallery and consider joining the region’s group for information on events, and also check Furillen’s own website for news and updates.

Furillen, Pandora Empire

SLurl Details

• Furillen and Furillen City (Pandora Empire, rated:  Moderate)

I was recently alerted to a couple of small exhibitions in Second Life with could be of interest to lovers of film and of science fiction: The Kubrick Rooms and the Wells Exhibit.

The Kubrick Rooms are the work of Rumpledink Robbiani. As the name suggests, this is something of a homage to legendary film-maker Stanley Kubrick. First opened in 2008 and available to visitors for a year thereafter, the rooms have been in limbo since then. However, Rumpledink’s friends encouraged him to bring them back in-world and he notes that this time, he hopes the money received in donations and from sales will help keep it around for longer.

Rooms is neatly designed around three of Kubrick’s most notable films: The Shining, 2001 A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, with The Shining taking overall centre stage by providing the setting. Visitors arrive at a small anteroom where instructions are offered (set the viewer’s time to midday), together with a single door. Step through this, and a familiar – to anyone who has seen The Shining – hallway from the Overlook Hotel opens up, complete with child’s tricycle.

As one would expect of a hotel, the hallway is lined in either side with room doors, some of which have their keys in the locks. They offer access to sets from The Shining – a lounge, the restrooms, the bathroom – as well as to the main rotating hallway of Space Station 5 from 2001 A Space Odyssey, where Doctor Heyward Floyd stops-over en route to the Moon and TMA-1, and another featuring A Clockwork Orange.

Within some of the rooms there are videos which delve into The Shining and 2001 – just ensure media is enabled on your viewer and click the screens as you come across them. A small cinema at one end of the hallway offers the 2014 documentary Kubrick Remembered, looking back on the great man’s life. At almost 90 minutes long, this is more than worth watching, presenting a fascinating retrospective on the man. Alongside of this is a small gift shop.

The Wells Exhibit can be found on the floor above Netera’s Coffee Lounge in Snug Harbour, and is curated by the lounge’s owner, Netera Landar. Use the teleport door set into the wall of the lounge, the disk on the floor, or the outdoor staircase to reach it. Examining the life and works of Herbert George Wells, the English writer, this is a somewhat more modest affair than The Kubrick Rooms, designed to fit within the space provided by the upper floor of the coffee lounge.

Information boards provide biographical information on H.G. Wells while the walls are home to archive photographs of him and a note card giver listing his publications. However, the majority of the exhibit focuses on Wells’ science fiction works. There are posters celebrating The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The Sleeper Awakes (1910), together with small pictures dedicated to A Modern Utopia (1905) and The Shape of Things to Come (1933).  Two slightly larger displays touch upon what might be his most well-known novels: The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1897).

Information on Wells’ writing is actually a little light and could perhaps benefit from two or three additional information boards. However, the Wells Exhibit still makes for an easy-going visit for those with an interest in his work. For those looking for a more unusual outing, it and The Kubrick Rooms might be just the ticket.  

SLurl Details

• The Kubrick Rooms (The Blue Note, rated: Moderate)
• Wells Exhibit (Snug Harbour, rated: Moderate)

The Mill, Pale Moonlight – click any image for full size

Just as in the physical world, there are certain places in Second Life we’re drawn back to again and again. This might be because the place has special significance, or because it is held by friends or offers a opportunities or photography or simple enjoyment, or because it is like the seasons – constantly changing and renewing.

For me, The Mill encompasses all of the things, and so is a natural choice for semi-regular revisits. Designed by friends Max (Maxie Daviau) and Shakespeare (SkinnyNilla), it is an ever-evolving place, always marvellously landscaped and presented, beautifully photogenic and delightfully restful.

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

Celebrating spring and summer, this version of The Mill takes us to what might be the Apennine Mountains – perhaps, going on the style of buildings here, the Tuscan–Emilian Apennines. Surrounded by tall, rugged peaks, the rocky dome of a hill (or if you prefer, an island) rises from the waters of (again, depending on your point of view) either a lake within the mountains, or the confluences of rivers running through them.

The majority of this island hill is given over to a farm where grapes and sunflowers are being cultivated. The farmhouse sits at the top of the hill, surrounded by woodland trees, wild grass and the nearest field of sunflowers. It is reached by a meandering track that slowly winds its way up the hill, passing further rows of regimented sunflowers and flat-topped outcrops of rock, content in taking its time to reach the farm, its wandering course encouraging visitors to do the same.

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

Few of the rocky tables pushing their way clear of the hill’s slope and grass are bare, Instead, each offers a point of interest – a folly, an artist’s studio, a swing beneath an aged, bent tree exerting a tenacious grip on the rock under it. Thus, each becomes a destination in its own right, filled with detail, enticing people to tarry, rather than hurrying onwards.

The track, which runs alongside the landing point, offers a fork which leads around the east shoulder of the hill to a steep slope falling away to the waters below. Here tall beech trees watch over a parade of vines already heavy with ripening grapes while a small summer-house sits close by, atop another outcrop and offering views both inland and out over the water.  On the north side of the land, the grassy slopes roll gently down towards the water’s edge, pointing to a café sitting atop a square promontory. Bracketing this and forming the shoreline, is a sandy beach to one side, and a grassy, gravelled bank on the other, connected to the track above by a terraced board walk.

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

One of the things that repeatedly attracts me to The Mill is the way the landscapes designed by Shakespeare and Max are always beautifully natural. In this design, the blending of grassy slopes, woodland copses, the mix of gentle slopes and rocky outcrops and the way in which the natural contours of the hill are used for buildings and tracks, etc., is a perfect reflection of how such a place would appear in the physical world. Fenced grazing for horses is provided in a natural step in the hill, sheep wander the slopes as they wish; everything is as nature (and human needs) would intend.

There is also an attention to detail here that is exquisite, be it the inclusion of livestock and wildlife, or little touches such as the shaded beehives, the sprinkler feeding the sunflowers and all the little signs of habitation that bring the farm to life, and the little knick-knacks to be found inside the studio, folly and so on. All of this further brings The Mill wonderfully to life.

The Mill, Pale Moonlight

With plenty of opportunities to simply sit and admire the landscape and enjoy the accompanying sound scape, or to wander through the long grass and between the trunks of beech, oak, pine and birch, The Mill continues to offer something for every lover of nature and much to please the eye and lens of any photographer.

SLurl Details

• The Mill (Pale Moonlight, rated Moderate)

Rustic Retreat – click on any image for full size

Rustic Retreat is a full region designed by Pred Fromund (Predator Ryba) and Bluey Porthos Fromund (Blue Whitefalcon). Described as ” an ideal place for photographers – or those that like to explore or just chill out”, it is a place of many facets: fantasy, whimsy, beauty, mystery – and a little darkness as well.

The fantasy element is made apparent at the landing point, alongside of which a Troll stands, whilst fairies play around a nearby fountain. The mystery is also evident to keen eyes, as strange plants can be seen further away along the fire-lit path, glowing and swaying in the breeze. Also not too far away, fantasy and mystery come together beyond a stone arch sitting alongside the trail.

Rustic Retreat

The default lighting for the region is night (although I opted to take most of my images in daylight), and I recommend exploring it; at least in part, as there are several areas which deserve to be seen in daylight, such is the attention lavished upon them. Torches and fires light the trails winding through parts of the region, and the glowing beauty of Elicio ember’s fabulous plants lend themselves perfectly to the night-time lighting.

Where you wander during a visit is entirely down to you; the trails will lead you to various places – one might lead to ancient ruins here, a little cuddle spot there, Another might take you to where a fork in the path gives you a choice of a climb up to a platform among waterfalls, or a  path through the skull of a dragon and thence to a basalt-ringed garden and pool with a coastal board walk beside gigantic mushrooms close by.

Rustic Retreat

This is a place where a Tree of life raises strong and tall into the sky, its base a place of elven-like power; where a lone tower rises from the surrounding woods, overlooking a wizard’s cottage on one side, and anther mystical glade on the other – albeit one also given to a touch of whimsy thanks to the characters to be found there.

Travel far enough and you’ll encounter more: coastal ruins, the gaiety or rabbits frolicking,  more whimsy in the form of pixie and fairy houses and gardens – and throughout all of it, places to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds. Meanwhile, the more adventurous can available themselves of network of teleport discs.

Rustic Retreat

These offer shortcuts to some of the ground-level locations, but it can also take you skyward, where the “darker” aspects of the region lie, such as a ghostly club where one gets the impression vampires and lycans might put aside their differences for a  while. Alongside of this is a post-apocalyptic setting where zombies and other creatures roam – and visitors are offered the protection of a free weapon. Elsewhere, you might find a small homage to Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic novel.

Picturesque by daylight, hauntingly mysterious by night, photogenic under any lighting conditions, Rustic Retreat offers an intriguing and eye-catching visit.

Rustic Retreat

SLurl Details

• Rustic Retreat (Dynasty City, rated: Adult)

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay – click on any image for full size

We received word that Sera Bellic had given her Homeland region of Oyster Bay a further make-over some 24 hours before it appeared in the Destination Guide Highlights for Friday, April 28th – and I was immediately intrigued by the theme title: Asian Fusion. Regular readers of this blog will know that anything having any kind of Eastern or oriental flavour is bound to get my attention. So, off we hopped to take a look.

Now, truth be told, “Asian” and “oriental” fusions in Second Life often tends to lean towards regions with a blending of predominantly Chinese and Japanese elements, so I was curious to see if Sera would cast her net wider than purely Sino-Japanese influences. And she has. Quite marvellously so.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

From the landing point in the north-west corner of the region, visitors are encouraged under a rocky arch and into a land that immediately puts one in mind of Indochina (or as we more boringly refer to it today: South-east Asia). Across a small river spanned by a simple yet ornate wooden bridge, a paired tier of rice paddies are stacked against a rocky bluff. Working oxen stand on the grassland between stream and paddies,  ignoring the click-clank of a nearby shishi odoshi which forms part of the region’s nods towards Japan. Another such nod can be found on the north bank of the river, where a small Japanese style cabin sits amidst elephant’s ears and clover, refreshments on offer inside, a sampan sitting at the river bank close by.

Immediately to the right of the rocky arch guiding visitors into the region is a clear nod to China. A bamboo grove rises on a step of clover-covered rock, home to a bamboo of pandas (I much prefer that to the the idea of an “embarrassment” of pandas, or the Royal Society’s 1866 decree that a group of pandas should be called a “cupboard”).  Like the oxen across the river, these bears are not the slightest bothered by the steady clank of an shishi odoshi.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

Southwards across the region, and the landscape becomes home to a dense, forest-like woodland. Here one is put in mind of Myamar (Burma), such is the jungle-like feel, coupled with the presence of another vulnerable / endangered species: the tiger. Within this mini reproducion of what might be  the Hukawng Valley, can also be found a Japanese torii gate marking a set of ancient stone steps leading to a decidedly Chinese pavilion where Buddha sits, all of which speaks further to the beautiful fusion of influences provided. Guarding this pavilion and hilltop are white Bengal tigers, offering a further and interesting fusion.

Travel north from the forest, and another  torii gate and flight of steps await. These lead up to a Japanese house sitting behind the rocky bluff against which the rice paddies have been built. Another house stands further to the south, beyond the forest and not far from the pandas in their bamboo grove, while in the middle of the region, rich in cherry blossom petals, sits a tranquil pond which feeds into the little river.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

I’ve long enjoyed Sera’s designs. each one tends to be unique and offer food for thought when considering designs and ideas of use at home or elsewhere. However, every so often there is a design which tends to stand slightly above Sera’s other builds for one reason or another. Asian Fusion is, for me, another such design; the way a range of influences have been brought together is simply marvellous (I even felt Sri Lanka, a country I love dearly reflected in a couple of places).

This is not so much a place to be visited as it is to be savoured. Simply wonderful.

Asian Fusion: Oyster Bay

SLurl Details

Asian Fusion (Oyster Bay, rated:  Moderate)