Tag: Exploring Second Life 2016

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ – click any image for full size

I’ve been paying an annual visit to Lindini2 Lane’s home region and location for her store, L2 Studio, since 2012. She has always presented the region as a landscaped setting which changes with the seasons, open for people to explore and enjoy whether or not they are  seeking one of her house designs.

Previously located on a homestead region, Lindini2 has now expanded to a Full region, L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, and for those seeking a break from the snowy scenes of winter now appearing across the grid, it could be just the ticket. The move has given Lindini the chance to really flex her creative muscle, displaying her designs in a coastal setting, beautifully landscaped, with a demo rezzing area for her buildings high overhead.

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ

Visitors using the main landmark arrive in the L2 Studio store in the south-east corner of the region. Just across the water from this, a set of steps lead up to a major new feature for Lindini’s land: the LHOO art gallery, currently displaying work by Jessica Belmer. To the north and west of this, the landscape becomes more rugged. Pine trees occupy rocky land cut by deep inlets, stone steps offering a way up onto their fingers, before the land falls away to a curving beach and narrow channel separating a sandy island from the rest of the landscape.

Within this setting can be found several of Lindini’s designs, set out in a manner suggestive of a small coastal community. Additional designs by Van Auster and others add to the natural feel to the setting, assisted by sheep grazing up on the craggy hills and horses wandering narrow trails, Cats can also be found here, keeping their eye on things, while a gentle, ambient soundscape completes the sense of immersion.

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ

The landscape is designed to encourage exploration – getting from A to B sometimes isn’t as straightforward as might first appear; diversions around inlets and across beaches are required. This further adds to the feeling of this is a place, rather than a showroom, as does the way all of the houses have been carefully furnished.

Throughout the region there are places to sit  – indoor and out , on the ground and in the trees – little places to discover and a lot to photograph and enjoy. If I have a quibble at all, it might be that there’s perhaps a little too much; at times my system struggled mightily with rendering.

L2 Studio & LHOOQ Gallery, LHOOQ

Nevertheless, L2 Studio and LHOOQ Gallery offers a pleasing and eye-catching break from the wintry destinations we might otherwise drop into;  the only wintertime concession can be found on the beach to the north-east – and even that is made of sand rather than snow 🙂 .

SLurl Details

• L2 Studio and LHOOQ Gallery (LHOOQ, rated: Moderate)

Fris’ Land, Liebe – click any image for full size

In 2014 I, like many other Second Life users, paid my first visit to Frisland, the region designed by Charlie Namiboo, Anna Barzane and Frislanda “Fris” Ferraris which was based on the phantom island that appeared on virtually all of the maps of the North Atlantic from the 1560s through the 1660s.

The region became an instant hit with visitors, changing its face to match the seasons, and drawing people back time and time again. So much so, that when it did finally come time to say goodbye, it was obvious many would miss it.

Fris’ Land, Liebe

It seems that Charlie and Fris also found it hard to leave their beloved creation behind, because they’ve just opened up Fris’ Land. While in no any way intended to be a replica of their original vision, it nevertheless offers those of us who miss Frisland with the opportunity to recapture memories of its wintertime look.

Occupying the eastern half of a Homestead region, Fris’ Land presents a snowbound landscape in which familiar pieces from Frisland – the little church, the horses and their little barn, the deck sitting over frigid water – sit alongside barns and houses not seen with the original, offering as new setting to explore and enjoy.

Fris’ Land, Liebe

From the landing point, located near a large barn offering indoor seating, complete with pot-bellied stove and fireplace to ward off the cold, visitors can wander north or south across the snow, to where either the little red church sits at the north end of the region, or to where a large timber-frame house occupies a study wooden deck on the southern side.

Along the walk to the church, visitors will pass a small deck extending out over the waters between the islands, chairs arranged alongside another pot-bellied stove, just as they did in Frisland (do, as well, keep an eye out for the little black kitten on the deck – he’ll certainly be keeping both eyes on you!). When heading south, be sure follow the stone-line track which meanders past the horses and their hay shed.

Fris’ Land, Liebe

Throughout the region, there are plenty of places to sit, indoors and out, including an old greenhouse frame sitting on a small dock behind the main barn. However, when exploring, and while there are bridges leading to them, do please keep in mind the island to the west are private residences, and not open to the public.

It’s a delight to see Fris and Charlie sharing their creativity again – and my thanks to Charlie for sending the invite for us to visit. Firs’ Land will remain open for “a couple of months” – so enjoy it while you have the chance!

SLurl Details

• Fris’ Land (Liebe, rated: Moderate)

I first visited Luane’s World in April 2016 thanks to Owl Dragonash. A beautiful, mystical realm, home to Luane Meo’s store, it offered a serene and romantic setting for visitors.

A lot has changed since then. Winter now grips the region (although summer retains a hold over the store), and the landscape has changed with the arrival of snow – but none of the romance, beauty or mystery of the region has been lost. Rather the opposite, in fact: it has grown, spreading itself across the adjoining region of Luane’s Magical World, presenting visitors with a genuine winter wonderland to explore.

This is a landscape that is so expansive, it’s hard to know where to begin. The two regions are both linked physically and by winter’s touch (with a little exception in the case of each one: Luane’s store, and a sandy, cliff-hugging beach), but each is entirely unique, representing shared work by Luane and Kaelyn McMahon (Kaelyn Alecto). As such, they genuinely need to be experienced rather than written about.

Just across the covered bridge from the store landing point, Luane’s World offers a setting that is largely rural: a cottage overlooks a frozen pond and fenced grazing for horses, a windmill turning slowly in the breeze, a small cabin close by sitting amidst frosted beech and oak trees. Stone slabs lift their white-dusted, flat heads above the deeper snow covering the ground, inviting visitors to wander further into the region.

Those who do will find there is much to see and do, be it wandering the Gothic ruins, climbing the hill to Santa’s playground, skating on a second, larger pond or watching the world go by from the railings of the bridges that cross frozen streams. Indoors, the cottages and cabin offer warmth and respite from the cold for those who need it.

Across a shallow channel of water spanned by more of the  stone slabs, and around a curve of beach, sits Luane’s Magical World. This is a more mysterious realm, where a ruined castle sits top the beach cliffs and glittering, frozen water separates the land into islands and flooded scenes. Frost clings to trees, and light flickers and twists between branches and trunks. The Polar Express sits at the water’s edge, perhaps waiting to whisk passengers off on an adventure to the North Pole, while out on the ice, unicorns frolic and now-white deer leap.

Climb up to the castle ruins and you’ll find one gate guarded by a portal and the other by a dragon. Travel far enough along the stone footpaths below the hill and you’ll either find your way back to Luane’s store or perhaps you’ll find a hidden cavern. One thing is sure: whichever route you take through Luane’s Magical World, you will find yourself enchanted by all that you find. You’ll also find plenty of places for sitting and cuddling while Romany caravans offer shelter from the cold.

This time of year always bring forth may winter-themed places to visit in Second Life, and all of them have a certain attraction. However, Luane’s worlds offer something very special with their joint seasonal setting. Be sure to add them to your list of places to see this Christmas!

SLurl Details

• Luane’s World (Slice of Heaven, rated: moderate)
• Luane’s Magical World (Morning Glow, rated: Adult)

La Digue du Braek, Muppets Island – click any image for full size

“The warehouse at the back is fun,” Cube Republic told me, when passing me the landmark to La Digue du Braek last week – and it is. Sitting at the “back” of the region (in terms of how you reach it if you follow the road), it’s a veritable curiosity shop, stacked with bric-a-brac and topped by a chandeliered club house.

La Digue du Braek is the work of Serene Footman, responsible for the stark beauty of Furillen (which you can read about  here and here), and his SL partner, Jade Koltai. Like that design, it is based on a physical world location, in this case the 7 kilometre long headland sitting between the English Channel and the working port area of the Dunkerque grand littoral intercommunity in Hauts-de-France.

La Digue du Braek, Muppets Island

It is on the seaward side this headland, known for the long road running along it, that visitors arrive in the region. The air is heavy with haze, and a short walk up and over the dunes is required to find the road. This brings into view the Canal de Bourbourg, which runs between the headland and the busy port, the shadowy bulk of which can be seen through the haze. The road itself sits at the foot of the dunes, running east from the maw of a tunnel before turning south to enter the port via a metal bridge. A ruined house and ageing pillbox, reminders of Dunkerque’s physical history, watch over the road.

Like the sky under which it sits,  the port is grey and tired looking, colours muted by years of work, the drabness seems only relieved by the bright colours of the containers stacked in their three wall-like rows. Ships are berthed alongside the wharf, their tired engines belching oily smoke up through their funnels to add to the haze of the sky. Tall cranes stand against the skyline like giant one-legged stick figures with oddly disproportionate arms, while the rounded bulk of oil storage tanks squat around their feet.

La Digue du Braek, Muppets Island

This is a busy place – but it is also one with certain incongruities which offer interest spiked with a little intrigue. It may be a working port, but the local power substation  appears to be in a state of disrepair and no longer connected to the main power grid. Further along the wharf, near the bulk of the warehouse, sit the wrecks of crashed trucks and vans, their broken and damaged remains apparently ignored; then there is the curiosity shop of the warehouse itself, complete with television eyes watching all who come and go.

But perhaps the most unusual part of the region lies close to port entrance. It is a great iron frame which rises into the sky to rival the tallest of the cranes. Metal stairways connect its multiple levels, within each of which sits at least one old mobile home or prefab. It forms a vertical trailer park, a place anyone who has read Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One will doubtless recognise.

La Digue du Braek, Muppets Island

La Digue du Braek is another atmospheric build; one rooted in the physical world but with interesting twists of the unexpected. It stands both on its own and as a companion to Furillen, and I’ve little doubt those who have enjoyed the latter will enjoy a visit here – and if you’ve not visited either La Digue du Braek or Furillen, now is the time to drop into both!

SLurl Details

• La Digue du Braek (Muppets Island, rated: Adult)

Rosemoor, Jadeite – click any image for full size

I received an e-mail from Krys Vita a few days ago (at the time of writing at least!), announcing that Rosemoor, the region she designed with Arol Lightfoot (and of which I wrote about in May 2016), has re-opened to the public for Christmas, taking on a suitably wintry look in the process.

“It’s a winter necessity ;),” Krys said, in describing the change-over in region looks when Caitlyn and I jumped over for a visit. I’m not sure “necessity” is the right word; I’d personally opt for “delight”, as Krys and Arol present a beautiful outdoors setting, lightly wooded and surrounded by high hills. Snow falls from a sky it has made hazy as the sun sits low on the horizon, blanketing the ground and insulating rooftops.

Rosemoor, Jadeite

A water channel cuts so deeply into the land, it almost divides it in two, a single bridge spanning it from north to south. But such is the time of year, the water normally flowing beneath the bridge has frozen over, becoming a slippery alternative  route through the landscape.

To the north-west of the land stands a substantial farmhouse, a dirt track winding southwards past a tall barn and the region’s landing point. Here, horses graze in a corral, a vintage – but clearly well-maintained – truck parked close by. Just beyond the barn sits a tracked snow plough, undoubtedly the reason for the cleared route down from the farmhouse. It sits at rest now, secretly offering a place to sit for those who might volunteer a click. Beyond it, the clear path gives way to frosted grass and a growing carpet of snow, fir and oak trees pointing the way towards the red steeple and whitewash walls of a country church.

Rosemoor, Jadeite

A hill lifts its humped back just a little to the east of the church, its top crowned by an A-framed chalet surrounded by a raised deck. Snug and warm inside, it enjoys a commanding view over the land. With a fire in the hearth, and a decorated tree surrounded by wrapped presents, the single room chalet suggests it might be a winter getaway for someone.

Down the hill from the chalet, and across the water from the church and the barn, sits a little cabin, door thrown wide and fire again burning in the hearth. Quite what its purpose might be is for you to imagine; while a fire may well be lit, the pumpkins on the floor have all seen better days. While they may sit as a reminder of Halloween, one has to wonder why they haven’t be removed.

Rosemoor, Jadeite

As well as exploring, visitors to Rosemoor can find much to do. You can snuggle in a sleigh, for example, or ice skate on the pond (or indeed, on the frozen water just beyond it); there are benches and seats an swings to be found throughout. And if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll find a place where you can grab a sled and ride it where you will –  just be careful with the local reindeer and other wildlife! Of course, if all the snow and cold air starts to get to you, the farmhouse and chalet offer a cosy respite and a chance to warm up once more.

Between them, Krys and Arol always cook up scenes which delight the eye. and Rosemoor’s winter setting is no exception. As noted above, it will be here until Christmas – which given how busy this time of year can be, might fly by all too easily; so do make sure you set aside a little time and take a wander through its wintertime setting.

SLurl Details

• Rosemoor (Jadeite, rated: Moderate)