Tag: exploration

SL Exploration: Ville de Coeur (Small French Village)

SL Exploration: Ville de Coeur (Small French Village)

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Today we’re taking a mini-adventure to a small European village called “Ville de Coeur” this is a primarily English-speaking sim that has French architecture and culture. If you’re looking for a place that is both nice for photography and gives you a small taste of France, then you have come to the right place. This little village can be found in the “Destinations” tab of your viewer under “International” which means this area gets a lot of traffic. This is a place I’d consider checking out as it also mainly meshes and keeps up to standards with Second Life’s graphics advancements otherwise known as going fully mesh. While exploring this little village you’ll find that the demographics of users that you’ll find here are normally 35 and older. However, now and then I’ve run into someone who is around their late 20s early 30s. If you find someone younger here, for the most part, their either exploring, looking for a place to do photography, or just have an old soul. To be fair, this sim appeals to anyone and everyone even though it attracts older and mature individuals so don’t let this frighten you away from the overall concept and amazing community this little town has to offer. There is so much to do, always someone to talk to, and from what I’ve experienced thus far no drama (I normally try to find places with little to no drama, because who wants their Second Life experience ruined by other peoples issues?).

Ville de Coeur as told by one of the users who own a gallery within walking distance from the entrance of the sim is 7 connected full sims. I’m mainly focusing on the main area as this was mostly what I explored but will be sure to explore the rest later and compile a detailed post on it. This area is very pleasing to the eye, relaxing, romantic, and overall a lighthearted atmosphere. There are always people here and from what I’ve experienced everyone is extremely friendly in the area. There isn’t one person that I’ve questioned as far as their motives, everyone just wants to talk, relax, and enjoy the scenery. There are a lot of dance balls, poses, and snuggle areas as well as a small café by the docks. There are residential areas where those who want to be on the sim can live and enjoy more of the community. I wouldn’t say this is much of a come and go destination… if you come here you come and stay and explore everything. The French theme is seen everywhere with mimes lining the streets, churches, the French flags above the market corridor and cobblestone streets. In a sense, if you’re into old architecture it reminds me of an older France then today’s rendition of the country.

Meeting new people:

As I’ve stated, this sim is filled with so many friendly people my first visit into this area a gentleman was sitting by the dock with some coffee and a bottle of wine in a small little café created area. He welcomed me in and then asked me if I wanted to join him for a little bit if I’m honest I had to leave not long after he invited me over to chat and hang out with him. I felt bad because he was so nice about it and talked to me about the community. He explained, that he owned a small gallery in the area which is where I asked if it was real life photos displayed in Second Life or more along the lines of Second Life photography and photo editing. His gallery is Second Life photography there is nothing wrong with that as I take photos of all my adventures and then of course post it onto this blog. I will be joining him on a small walking tour of some point in the small village and community.

I’ve come here at all hours of the night so I could type up a genuine and true portrayal of this sim it required me to pop in quite a few times to be able to do so. In the end, if you’re looking for a drama-free place to meet new people and make new friends this is probably the perfect place to be. There is so much to do from walking around with a walking tour either with someone or alone to hanging out on the beach and partying in the small gazebo with a bar, seating, and dancing, there is so much to do. Also, if you love randomly dancing consistently throughout a city like you would find in a Broadway show when in a small city or village than you will appreciate all the dance orb rezzers throughout the entire sim. This is a perfect place for romance as well as it’s a very enjoyable place to be with that special someone. There are a lot of couple’s activities and dancing is for more than one person as well as some of the specific walkers. What I love the most about the people here is they don’t have a hidden agenda. You might get someone saying you’re pretty or attractive, but they aren’t going to try and de-robe you in bed within the next hour of talking to someone. Everyone here has values and isn’t the type to cause drama from what I’ve experienced the 8 times I’ve visited this area. The people who are here are here to be a part of a community and have fun by surfing the waves, dancing, virtual drinking, etc. Sex is not the primary thing on most of the peoples’ minds here so it’s a nice escape from the rest of Second Life.

Scenery:

When exploring if you can’t tell this sim is made from a French theme then you might want to re-evaluate what you can and cannot see. The theme of this village Is to connect it with an older version of France. Which of course is one of the most romantic countries in the world. The area is lined by the French flag in banners throughout the main sim of this area to a small gathering area with a water fountain. Which by the way is a super nice touch with the cobblestone streets, if I’m honest the area reminded me of how Charles Dickens in his literature describes his surroundings in 1800s England. It’s very beautiful and I feel literature enthusiasts and historians will appreciate this area! There are shops everywhere but ahead of time, I’ll explain that a lot of the shops here are mainly older Second Life outfits that aren’t mesh. But to be fair I still have some outfits like those in my inventory some things just never get old even when everything moves forward. It’s nice to support small businesses though so don’t let that throw you off from looking around. There aren’t any roads throughout this sim it’s all paths and walking areas so don’t be ready to bring out your Lamborghini’s and other cars you bought on the Second Life marketplace.

Aside from the actual city feel itself there is a nicely made beach right across the way with steps leading down to it. Over by the café I mentioned when you first land inside of the small village there is a boat dock. If you love to sail this is an awesome place to do it, I rezzed my boat and explored the scenery especially the outskirts of the sim it’s surrounded by beautiful trees and mountains. A perfect place for photography! The beach is right next to the docks.

There is so much to do there are sitting areas, you can swim, surf, sail, drink, dance, you name it you can do it on the beach except be fully nude. This isn’t a nude beach if you want to be nude on a beach there are sims specifically for that sorry my beautiful nudists out there. Right next to it which I explained in the “meeting people” section of this post is the small little shack where you can drink, sit, and dance in an outside bar-like setting. Right next to it is a small swimming area it’s a pool with a beautiful gazebo where I took a photo of my avatar. It was such a pretty section I just had too! There aren’t couple swimming animations but it’s there if you want to take a dip in the pool instead of the beach.

Everything about this sim matches the theme perfectly. There’s also a residential area if you’re looking to live in this small community to find out more about this please visit the Ville de Coeur website at https://villedecoeur.online/ where you can find more information about the community, events, and residential areas.

To conclude, I enjoyed my time here in Ville de Coeur and plan to visit more in the future. The scenery is gorgeous, and you can do pretty much anything in a beautiful setting. There’s so much to do and it’s just overall a super appealing area with so many kind people in the area to chat with and enjoy your time with. With so much to do, I would come to explore the beauty of this sim and how well made it is. If you have any more questions or want to know more about the sim please visit their website at https://villedecoeur.online/ until next time…

Chao!

SL Exploration: Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO

SL Exploration: Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Exploration lies deep within our human DNA, no matter what we love to explore even if we aren’t aware that we’re doing it. I’ll be honest today was a somewhat boring day for me in my reality and I thought I’d jump into Second Life and do a little bit of exploring. During my travels, I came across a Russian sim by the name “Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO”. I felt like exploring something that at some point could also be seen in real life, so I used the destinations button on the left-hand side of my firestorm viewer and went to the “international” tab to begin. Heads up there are a lot of Brazil areas to visit recently. Since this wasn’t a Brazilian area, I chose it not that I have anything against Brazil there are just so many areas made to replicate it and when you’ve been to one you’ve been to them all. I can’t wait to jump right in and tell you all about my experience in the Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO!

The scenery in this sim is very well put together and is a beautiful little town to take some photos in if you’re a Second Life photographer. The scenic surroundings are so relaxing and welcoming that it relaxes you and makes you enjoy the area. It has an older country feel to it that I surrounded by trees, forests, grass and flowers (here and there). It reminds me of an area before capitalism takes over and builds skyscrapers, shops, cities, etc. in its place. Keep in mind this is just one sim there aren’t any connecting sims to visit but honestly, you only need the one sim it’s so beautifully put together and there is a lot to see and explore. When you first enter the sim there is a bike rezzer to your left where you can rezz a bike from a store called {What’s Next} that you’re able to use on the sim to cruise around while you enjoy the scenery. It’s a fast and easier way to get around the sim because guess what? This sim disabled flying so you’re either walking, running or biking. It stays true to realism and to be fair you must give the creator credit for that. If you’re making a realistic place, why shouldn’t everything about it be real? One issue I’ve had is because there is a lot to load even with good connection speed and a gaming laptop with high specs it took about 5-10 minutes for the entire area to load. So, if you visit please be patient while everything loads in. Go grab a glass of water start some music get comfortable by that point it should be ready to go.

The small-town community feels is just something I can’t get over I live in an extremely populated area in my real life and I’ve always like small old town areas because it’s the complete opposite of what I experience and it’s nice and relaxing to me. There are slopes, hills, and trees galore but what I loved the most were the little sitting areas that are scattered around the entire sim where you can sit and just enjoy your time. These areas have cuddle options so if you want to take someone on a date here it’s perfect! My new favorite little gem about this place is a small little walkway leading you out to a small little beach area with a dock overlooking the water and hills afar. If you turn the environment settings to sunset, it’s worth every moment you spend there. If only I had a cup of tea and a book it would be the perfect afternoon the sun glistens off the water, it’s almost something from a dream scene that you’d see in a movie. If you don’t visit for anything else, I highly suggest visiting just to see this viewpoint from the dock.

One thing I wanted to mention is sometimes people get annoyed when visiting sims because there is furniture or scenery that looks to much like prim instead of mesh. I’ll be honest even I get a little bit annoyed about this. Luckily this scenic area is all meshed all the furniture, houses, objects, trees, surroundings, grass, and plants are all mesh and look realistic and true to their textures. Thank goodness! This is somewhat a pet peeve of mine now, not that I have anything against prim but with today’s expectations of Second Life and advancements in technology and graphics, I can’t fully appreciate prim anymore because of the realism mesh objects bring. Also, I find mesh important when creating a realistic area because realism is key if you’re trying to recreate a real place. Another quick thing I’ve noticed, and I didn’t take a photo of it because I didn’t feel the need to is right when you rezz in there is a camping site. With this, there is also a concert stage that looks like it doesn’t blend it with the rest of the theme and scenery. I’m not quite sure if I like it or the setup it almost feels as if it’s out of place with everything else. However, this is something that can be overlooked considering the rest of the sim. An important note is there’s a sandbox on this sim with a 30-minute auto-return so if you need to rezz or unpack an item then this little town has it all with its area to do it!

Overall, if you’re looking for a place with a little bit of small-town charm and a sim that gives you beautiful scenery and shows the beauty of the countryside in Russia than this is the area to explore and I highly suggest it. It has so much to offer and so much to explore I was easily able to spend about an hour here. Below is the SURL that you can copy and paste into your viewer at the top or you can just click it and it will bring it up in your browser to teleport too. This place is something special!

Click here to go to Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO