In the Outback

Here's a stunning view of Ayer's Rock, deep in the Australian outback. But imagine my disappointment when I tried to get closer and found it was surrounded on all sides by one of those red no-entry barriers!

You can get there by first locating the Billabong Bar in Search. It's an authentic-looking outback tavern, where there always seems to be a party going on! If you can still walk after your friendly reception, head out the back door and keep going west. You can't miss Ayer's Rock. On the way, see if you can find the didgeridoos hidden in the bush... follow the sound! There's also a lovely oasis out there somewhere. But I didn't see a single kangaroo!

The Sistine Chapel

The Vassar College island has a beautiful replica of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, where the popes are elected (the white puff of smoke, etc), and where Michelangelo painted his famous ceiling frescos. Walk into the chapel about half way, switch to mouse view, then look up! It's breathtaking: one of the best examples I've seen of an SL representation of the real world. You can spend ages there just standing in one spot and looking at the paintings, there are so many of them.

Also on view are Raphael's tapestries, but only for thirty seconds at a time, for some reason!

Before (or during) your visit, I recommend having a look at the Vatican website for the Sistine Chapel, at this address:

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Main.html

There's lots of information there. And you can also get a good idea of how accurate the SL representation is!

Here there (may) be dragons!

Should I or shouldn't I? This tunnel into the underworld in the medieval-themed Avilion sim looks pretty spooky!

Of course I did; but I won't spoil your own thrill of discovery by telling you what I found down there. You'll have to go and see for yourself!

But please be sure to read the rules that are posted at the gates. It's a serious role-playing sim (though not a Gorean one, thank goodness!), and there are free medieval-style clothes provided. No such thing as observer status there, so be prepared to take part in the action!

The Eternal City

The imperial palace in the ancient Rome sim is usually not open to the public. But with the recent celebration of the Saturnalia festival, the Emperor graciously opened its gates to the citizens. The photo shows some of the beauty within!

The Roma SPQR sim is owned by a real-life Roman archaeologist, and provides an accurate depiction of what the ancient city would have looked like. There is some role-playing there, and many of the ancient festivals are celebrated at the appropriate times of year. For example, the Saturnalia involved slaves changing places with their masters for the day.

The sim now covers three entire regions, and flying is not enabled, so be sure give yourself enough time for a long walk! There are many interesting things to see, and informative note cards are available everywhere. (Watch for the red disk with the Roma olive branch symbol on it!) And be sure to pick up a free toga when you arrive at the customs house in the harbour: historical sims are much more fun when everyone looks the part!

Casablanca

The Casablanca sim was built to represent Morocco, rather than the famous Bogart movie. The photo shows the Hassan Mosque and its gardens, from a balcony at the Casablanca Cafe. You can listen to both traditional and contemporary Moroccan music while you're there. Seek out one of the two soccer fields and have a game! There's also a big traditional souk (i.e. marketplace) with all kinds of Moroccan merchandise for sale, a beach, and a harbour. Numerous clickable information tags throughout the sim will tell you about the history and architecture of the place. And if you're there at the right time, you might find me practising my belly dancing at the cafe!

To get there, open the Map and type "Casablanca" in the Search field, then click the Teleport button. The TP landing point is located in the plaza between the mosque and the bazaar.

Travel Advisory

I found this pleasant-looking castle on the east side of the road through the Imperial region. But things are not as they appear! There's a region boundary that passes right beneath the drawbridge. When I crossed it I ignored my own advice (see my post of 24 August) and ended up falling through the floor into the dungeon below. It was full of all kinds of extremely nasty-looking torture equipment. Fortunately none of it was in use. The code of the SL explorer forbids TP-ing out of trouble, except as a last resort. But I was able to find my way out on foot, and made it back to the road without too much trouble.


But as I continued northwards down the road I found this lovely vineyard in the Obscure region, which raised my spirits.

The Great Linden Wall

Here's one end of the Great Linden Wall, in the Horisme region. To get an idea of just how great it is, that's me at the bottom of the ramp! The wall passes through perhaps a dozen regions.

Be sure to read the boundary-crossing tips in my last blog entry: if you fall through the surface of this thing, it's very hard to get out again!

To get there, open the map and type "Horisme" in the Search field. The wall is easy to see on the map, with its end near the southern boundary of the region. Then just click on the map where you want to land, and press the Teleport button.