Category: Second Life

Cece’s Secret – click on any image for full size

I was drawn to Cece’s Secret, a homestead region designed by CeCeGy, as a result of seeing it as an Editor’s Pick in the Destination Guide. For those still keen to enjoy winter themes, it currently offers a snowy environment which makes for a pleasing visit and a charming location with hints of romance.

A visit starts on the largest of five islands, and almost at the centre of the region. This island is home to a parade of shops facing a railway station terminus, a single track curving out of the station to vanish into a tunnel. A train is halted before the awning of the station – which is just as well; the smoke stack of the engine is taller than the steel frame of the awning, so any attempt to go any further might have been damaging to both. Instead, the train sits under the early morning sky, a small square alongside the track.

Cece’s Secret

A café sits on the square, a frozen pond nearby, reached via a set of gates. Further to the east, beyond the rocks rising from the ground beyond the pond, sits a whitewashed cabin with roaring fire outside and an interior setting suitable for newly weds and the romantic at heart. With the ground covered in snow, a path marked by small rocks winds its way around the shops and down to the south to where two bridges span narrow channels to the nearer two of the four southern islands.

Of the two islands reached via these bridges, one is a rocky outcrop. Stone steps curl up the snow and rock to where a large tower rises, inviting people to explore. With its walls holed and its turret broken, this tower still offers another cosy retreat. Across the water the second island is lower, flatter. Reached via a low bridge, it is home to another comfortable cabin facing a vagabond trailer across another frozen pond.

Cece’s Secret

The remaining two islands sit further out and are far more rugged in nature; one on the edge of the region and deserted; the second – which appears to be only reachable by flying – is also rugged, with a garden cottages sitting on the top of it, again making presenting another comfortable escape from the rest of the world.

There is one more accessible offshore point; not so much an island as a tiny islet on the west side of the region. Reached by a little iron bridge, and devoid of trees, it offers a bed under a canopy, while a deck with seats and burning brazier faces it from across the region on the east side.

Cece’s Secret

There are one or two little issues with the design, but nothing to spoil the overall setting. There are some gates that don’t open, for example, but can easily be walked around, while one or two plants could do with being phantom. Do note, as well, that scripts are disabled; so if you re-log whilst visiting, you many find any scripted AO you use and scripted attachments may not work as expected.

It’s important to note that these are own little issues, and they don’t spoil a visit. As such, were I to use one word to describe Cece’s Secret, it might be placid. The winter set to the region, coupled with the surrounding mountains, the region has a feeling of being a secluded place; somewhere to escape to and relax. As well as the cabins and the bed on its islet, there are numerous places to sit and relax or cuddle.

Cece’s Secret

SLurl Details

• Cece’s Secret (Serena Salina, rated: Moderate)

Les Reves Perdus – click on any image for full size

Miro Collas drew my attention to Les Reves Perdus (“Dreams Lost”). It’s a place we’ve enjoyed visiting in the past and which I’ve previously written about here and here, so we were more that happy to make a return visit. Designed by Cathy (zaziaa), she relocated to a new Homestead region in November 2017, and with the move offers a design with a distinctly oriental flavour that also encompasses a nice use of water.

Visitors arrive before a memorial gate, lit by floating lanterns. A trail of firefly-like lights float just above the water, leading the way to the largest of three islands in the region, which rise from the water on sheer cliffs to form a table-like top. Water tumbles from a series of falls on the west side of the island, alongside a set of stone steps rising from the water to provide a way to the top.

Les Reves Perdus

A small temple sits on the island, a formal walled garden beyond it, reach by a couple of bridges that span two small channels cutting into the rock. While the garden and temple have a distinct Japanese look to them, there is bamboo growing alongside the wall of the garden which has attracted an embarrassment of pandas, giving the setting a Chinese flavour. More waterfalls tumble from the north side of the island, while around the cliffs can be found rock carvings, a Buddha and floating candles, all of which add subtle touches to the setting.

To the south-east of this large island is a second. Again flat-topped and with sheer cliffs, it is home a large Japanese-style house, sitting over a body of water which doesn’t quite feed the falls tumbling from the rocks – at least, not on the surface. The steps leading up to the house also link it with an avenue of trees running to the beach at the base of the region’s third island. Follow this and you’ll find an ancient pier pointing out to sea, facing a path winding up the side of the island’s cliffs, with the entrance to a cavern at its base.

Les Reves Perdus

All of this just scratches the surface of the region’s beauty. Near to the arrival gate is pavilion where Chinese drums and Zheng can be played, all under the watchful eyes of a dragon. Candles float over the water alongside the pavilion, while plants hug the waters at the base of the islands. as well as the drums and Zheng, the pavilion offers the opportunity to enjoy Tai Chi, while the house on the “middle” of the three islands offers a place to relax and simply enjoy the setting. There are a couple of adult elements in the caverns under one of the islands – but there are not anything that should give offence.

One of the delights in visiting Les Reves Perdus is that each iteration is entirely difference to the previous, making every visit after a redesign both a pleasure and an opportunity for discovery. This latest build is no exception; it is wonderfully tranquil, with a subtle sound scape and, for those so minds, a reflective audio stream courtesy of  Chouchou.

Les Reves Perdus

As someone who delights in oriental themes and a considered use of water in a region build, I  admit to thoroughly enjoying reacquainting myself with Les Reves Perdux in its new home, as did Caitlyn. We both look forward to future visits.

SLurl Details

• Les Reves Perdux (Miss C, rated: Adult)