GIADINI DI VITA

GIADINI DI VITA

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Giardini%20di%20Vita/60/100/22

     Its Spring.  Finally in my side of the world the snow is beginning to melt, birds are beginning to sing, little animals are scurrying out from their long winter nap, life is arriving to my corner of the world again.  Of course this amazing world opening before me in real life wants to make me experience the same in second life.  So dawning a few summer outfits and my camera I headed out to Giadini Di Vita thinking Italy would be the best place to simply enjoy spring.

     The landing point instantly puts me in front of a little café and I swear I could almost smell the espresso and lattes from inside.  This would be the perfect little place to spend a few hours sitting and talking with friends or simply just taking photos.  It was here that I sat and did a little research about the Sim I was about to view.

     owned , and one can only assume, created by Vita.camino, this sim is both a residential sim and a photography site.  All the rentals are these beautiful little Italian style villas, and right beside this little café is the most beautiful wine and book bar.

     In the photo, or common area's that line the cobble streets, you'll find numerous photo locations as well as wild life springing up all over the place, and beautiful little rose gardens.  Now a good many of the building are "fake" and unable to be entered, but definitely peek in the windows to find some really cute scenes laid out.

     A walk along the cobblestone streets will have you viewing some beautiful wild life and stunning foliage.  Definitely worth stopping and striking a pose in.

   

And of course with it being spring I couldn't resist stopping to play in the gardens.

     Now the sim is majorly residential, and if you are looking for a stunning place to live this will certainly be at the top of my list.  I  enjoyed walking through the sim and getting lost in spring, the photographic area is small and doesn't have many interactive objects but definitely worth taking your poses and snapping a few or simply hanging out.  As a residential Sim I would certainly give it a 5 out of 5 but as a photographic Sim it gets a 3 out of 5.

REQUIEM

REQUIEM

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pitsburgh%20Island/128/128/22

Adult

     I'm not quite sure where to begin with this one!  Before I took the landmark I read up on the sim.  Titled as a Fetish Theatre and Sim I went in fully expecting to see some of the more "naughty" themes available in sl.  The description of the sim tells us that it is an adult fantasy environment that is both stimulating, artistic and catering to the animalistic beast that lurks deep in us all..........I mean so far this place sounds like heaven right?

Now the landing point is pictured above and the moment my feet stood upon this virtual ground, my nose crinkled with confusion at the unexpected.  The place was pristine white, and very femininely decorated with no hint of appealing to that inner beast.  Now, this was simply a landing area, so I set off to explore some more.

     So this is what I first saw when walking out into the sim.  Totally unexpected for the theme I was promised but never less a lovely little scene.  I was quick to capture a picture of it.  When I turned though I was slightly confused.  From my spot at Sleeping Beauty's dress, just a few mere steps away was the front gate of a Carnival.  The scary clowns mouth opened wide to admit entrance.  Expecting a Kinky, scary carnival theme I stepped through only to see more of the above fairy tale type scene.

There were a few buildings with similar ill fitting scenes, a hotel that had the scariest children I have ever seen standing out front playing with balloons', Fairy tale horses beside a coffee/radio station/bar, beside a lake with a wedding sign, beside a group of run down fishing boats.

No matter what picture you took the scenes were so close together that you were always catching something that DIDN"T fit the scene in the back ground.  Its the first time that I've ever visited a sim and gotten so frustrated that I simply gave up taking pictures.  Now I will say this, every inch of this sim is interactive and would be perfect to take photos, this person obviously has one hell of  a pose prop collection, IF it was laid out properly and with some sort of theme besides scattered pieces and scattered buildings all over the place.  Its as if they person simply cleaned out their inventory of favorite things on one sim.  I am giving the place a 1.5 out of 5 because the pose props were so great, I just wished I could have taken a decent picture with them without a whole other scene in the back ground.

Farewell to Summer Trace 2016

Farewell Summer Trace 2016

Ok people, don't freak out yet.  Yes its true, the current Summer Trace is closing March the 24th.  Have no fear though, the owner and creators do have another amazing Summer Trace in the works for us.  Keep and eye on the Second Life Tourist for the LM and review when it opens.

Eternally Yours

ETERNALLY YOURS

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Eternally%20Yours/128/128/48

https://www.flickr.com/groups/2917586@N24/

I was going through Flickr one day, favoring photos, when I noticed one featuring a beautiful landscape.  Checking I was happy to see that a teleport awaiting and quickly got the landmark knowing this was someplace I wanted to explore.

The description of Eternally Yours tells us its a rustic, mystical, magical mountain side with a surprise around every turn.  I instantly started imagining fairies in the forest, leprechauns peeking around corners, that sort of thing.  Well I wasn't disappointed when I first landed.  You instantly fall into the magical world promised.

 Near landing point

Near landing point

Near landing point

Ok, so we can all agree from this picture that this sim so far is certainly sticking to its magical, mystical, mountain theme.  As you take a little trail though something strange happens, the mystical

and magical completely fade and it simply just becomes mountain home.

Cute little Cabins are place through out this one mountain area 

All beautifully decorated 

 All with fantasic interactive objects

 This home as a beautiful view of the wooded area, and a huge field filled with deer.

 another one of the many cottages

 Stunning view from the cottage door

 field by the Big log house.

  beautiful light house

     Now, this mountain type area is stunning, its beautifully decorated, its fantastic to go to and relax, but with there not being one single magical or mystical element hidden in it, you end up feeling like you've walked from one sim into another.   The sim then opens up to an open water area and if you begin to explore, under the water you will see the magical element come back.  Once more you feel you've been transported to another sim.

     I was that the magical element was blended more into the cabin area not leaving them feeling so separated.  When I took pictures in the first area I changed into something whimsical, but the time I was in the mountain area the outfit felt very out of place but wouldn't have been so if I still could have found a unicorn grazing instead of deer.  Adding this to the wooded area would also have blended the water area with the merhorses more.  Over all though the sim is lovely, beautifully decorated and easy to get around.  For that I'm giving it a 3 out of 5. Just make sure to bring a few change of clothes for the trip.

ASHEMI

ASHEMI

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Azure%20Star/195/206/27

https://www.flickr.com/groups/3010823@N24/

     Not many people know this about me, but this journey of sim hopping began long,  long ago.  December of 2011 I lost someone very close to me in second life very suddenly.  It was a heart break unlike any I've ever known.  I cared deeply for that person, talked to him everyday, shared my interests and aspirations, and developed a true friendship even though we never met face to face.  Yet when he passed the grief was just as real as if it was someone in real life, and sadly in second life we don't get the same type of closer to heal as we would in real life.  There was no funeral, no beautiful speeches, he was just simply gone.

     Not knowing how to heal myself, but knowing I needed time with a hurt this deep , I decided then to take out a real life map and travel in second life.  To visit the world, take pictures, write, and process all I was feeling.  It took me almost 2 full years to finish my journey, and another year before I could honestly say I was back to being myself once again completely, but I had created a world of experiences and stories in sl, met people from all over the world and created a very versatile friends list, that I otherwise would not have gotten.

   Now you may ask why it is i'm sharing all of this.  Well, when I was doing my travels through second life back then, I was visiting more cultural sims.  Paris, Egypt, Venice..........and when I returned to my travels it a while later it was more photographic sims......It has been along time since I felt whisked away into another culture, another land, felt like I was visiting and truly a tourist.

     Ashemi is a thriving little City rich with Asian culture.  From the moment I landed on this sim I felt completely whisked away and unable to stop clicking my camera like the typical tourist (I left with 35 pictures).  Everything from the light settings, to the scenery and back ground buildings leaves you feeling completely teleported to another place.

The food venders, coffee shops , even the foliage on the sim all add to this feeling.   Almost everything there is interactive and waiting to have pictures taken in front of it.  The Sim does have a rating of Moderate, so please make sure there is no nudity. 

My Favorite place, the arcade

The owner and one can only assume creator of this sim, Ime Poplin, boasts that its a "cool area for relaxing with friends Photoshoots, and just chilling" and I can't agree with her more.  Your eyes simply will not know what to take in first and if you are a lover of second life photography as am I, you simply not know when to stop.

     I am proud to say I fell completely in love with this sim, and not only will I be back in the future for more photos but it will definitely become a hang out for me as well.  Brilliantly designed, perfectly laid out, amazing place to explore, and simply stunning in its theme.  I Certainly wish we had something far beyond a 5 out of 5 to give this place.  You will most defiantly see this place in the running for my Sim of the Year.