Category: Second Life

Earlier in September I received an invitation from Teagan Lefevre to visit her latest region build at Tilheyra (see: An everglades autumn at Tilheyra in Second Life). At the time, I noted from her Profile that she and her SL partner Cayleigh Lefevre (Cayleigh Aurelia) also had a new (at least to me) location on Heterocera where they’d set-up another picturesque setting for people visit, with the attraction (again, at least for me, of being home to a coffee house).

Occupying a 5,520 square metre parcel to the south-west of the continent (itself home to a fair few of the cafes I’ve written about in these pages), Le’eaf Forest Retreat is – as is always the case with designs by Teagan and Cayleigh – picturesque, engaging and – as if it really needs saying – exceptionally atmospheric and decidedly photogenic.

Once a bustling train depot of adventurers, the Le’eaf Forest Retreat has been reclaimed by Mother Nature and of course caffeine. An umbrella waits for your arrival as you wander through the rain, seeking shelter and a warm beverage.

– Le’eaf Forest Retreat About Land

Sitting in the arms of the junction between Atoll Road and Mock Heather Road, Le’eaf Forest Retreat is marked to the south by a stream tumbling downslope from the mouth of an old tunnel and into the formal lines of a canal just before it is in turn swallowed by another tunnel. Just a little up from this, with what remains of the old railway line mentioned in the About Land description, most of it now gone and replaced by roughly hewn trail which may – or indeed, may not – mark where the tracks might have once lead.

Another natural trail climbs gently upwards from the canal, crossing the one which may have once carried the single line track as it paralleled the water, and then continues up to what remains of the depot building itself – the largest structure within the parcel. Bordered on one side by what remains of an old ticketing station and another spur of train track, the old depot now sits as a café boasting strong coffee for those seeking it and with plenty of seating to be had for patrons – including bench seats which look as if they might have originated as seating within cabins on a first-class rail carriage.

To one side of its length, the café connects to the old ticketing hall via an old ticket office-come-waiting-room, now clearly no longer used as such but which has a couple of Japanese automated ticket machines – most likely brought to the old depot to act as décor more than anything else. Above the ticket kiosk and on a small mezzanine level overlooking the rest of the café is a further seating area where a large wall mural and posters celebrate rail travel and the allure of visiting far-away places.

For those who don’t mind getting a little wet once they’ve purchased their refreshments – Le’eaf Forest Retreat sits within a rainstorm of near tropical rain forest proportions – what’s left of an old brick outbuilding has been converted into a cosy snug, complete with movie projector and a brazier alive with the flames of a warming fire.

All of this sits within a landscape which has been put together to suggest both the encroachment of nature on humanity’s endeavours and also a wild, but still managed garden with blooms of colour and little corner delights tucked away and awaiting discovery by those who can to brave the humid downpour to wander the short paths around the depot, perhaps meeting some of the local wildlife along the way.

Such is the design of Le’eaf Forest Retreat that it really doesn’t require much of a description here – it speaks for itself from the moment you arrive. And if you happen to be someone who has not previously visited designs by Teagan and Cayleigh, do be sure to accept the note card which is offered on arrival, as it has a lot of information on their other builds together with  their partnership with The Nature Collective and about live events they host.

All in all, a pleasant pace to spend time, the rain and mist giving Le’eaf Forest Retreat a sense of isolation and introversion which is as engaging as the physical aspects of the location.

SLurl Details

• Le’eaf Forest Retreat Itame, rated Moderate)

I’ve been back on my café-hopping again of late, with a recent stop being that of Triple Sweet Café, designed and operated by Nisha Nebula (StarfireNebula).

Located within a Homestead region and sitting on the largest of five islands located therein, the Triple Sweet Café would – but for the trees which form the island’s major occupiers – offer a commanding view out over the waters towards two of the other four islands. It would also provide a broke of the island’s foreshore, where a dock points out from the land, a place where rowing boats await those who fancy taking a trip out on the water. However, should you opt to do so, please note that with the exception of the little island closest to the café’s (and linked to it via a humpbacked bridge), the small islands are private residences, so please do not approach or explore without permission.

However, as noted above, the café is screened from the westward island by trees and they climb up the rugged hillside to its flat top, giving the café and its aged terrace and foreland a cosy sense of privacy and detachment; marking them as a place where people can come and forget worries and upsets and simply relax and let the time pass without care.

The converted cottage in which the Triple Sweet is located is the only building on the island. It offers a snug main room complete with a counter where coffee and pastries might be purchased and comfortable armchairs and sofas sit around an open fire – something likely to prove popular with visitors as the nights start to drawn in here in the northern hemisphere.

A second little snug space sits above, on a half-floor reached via a spiral stairway. Should the main room, with its armchairs and tables and chairs prove to be a little busy, a connecting hall offers the way to a glass-roofed side room. This also offers comfortable armchairs before a fireplace, together with counter seating. It’s a genuinely warm, friendly place, whilst the old terrace outside the front door has seating for those who enjoy coffee and sunshine.

The café shares the hilltop with a wooden deck presented as an event space; dances are available for the romantically-inclined, while tables to one side offer further places to sit and enjoy a drink and a nibble.

Nor is sitting in or close to the café the only options for visitors to the island. Follow the steps at the front of the café’s grounds to the lowland area, and it will not open lead to the small dock mentioned above, but also opens the way to most of the other places where people can sit and cuddle or chat and pass the time. One of these – the little campsite – has a path curving away to it to where a second set of steps descend the hill from the café to reach the stone bridge as it hops of the water to the little island I also referenced above.

Low-lying and circular in nature, the island is home to ruins of an equally circular form. What they may represent is up to the imagination, but with the surrounding trees and flow of vines over the stonework, it forms another place of romance for dancers, the fountain at its centre completing the attraction of this quiet location.

Like many places in Second Life, Triple Sweet Café is dressed for the Autumn / Fall, with many of the trees around the café heavy with leaves turning brown, gold and red, while some of the leaves having decided to make the jump for the ground, where the colours also reflect the time of year, even as racoons and squirrels roam. Also given the time of year, the trappings of Halloween have started to appear, both indoors and out.

Highly photogenic and finished with a fitting local soundscape, Triple Sweet Café makes for an inviting and engaging visit. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a coffee and a cinnamon roll with my name on them 🙂 .

SLurl Details

Triple Sweet Café (Hydra, rated Moderate)