Barcelona Plaza Real

Barcelona Plaza Real_005

Greetings from Barcelona.  Having a great time – wish you were here!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tumotiko%20East/69/136/0

I’ve not been to the real Barcelona, so I can’t say if this sim is similar to the real deal or not, but I can tell you that it’s gorgeous, very well designed, appealing to the eye, and a great place to hang out in general and meet folks.  It’s good if you know a bit of Spanish as there are many Spanish-speaking people around.  It offers a cozy cafe to share a latte with friends or to have a dance.  There are assorted shops and art galleries.  And in addition to the city feel, the edges are beach covered and offer sights to see, boating interactive activities, and more hang out spaces.  The music is a soothing Latin station, good for chatting with friends or dancing.

Here’s a tip…do visit sims that have a majority of non-English speaking residents.  Don’t be afraid!  It’s a wonderful way to experience another culture without a passport or even leaving your home.  There are translation devices easily found in SL, many of them free.  There is a bit of a learning curve, but it’s well worth it.  Its a terrific way to learn a foreign language or practice your rusty skills in a language you are semi-literate in.  I’ve had many non-English speaking friends do this very thing in order to practice their English and I’ve seen them become remarkably proficient by the exercise and rather quickly too!  Overall, it’s a great way to expand your world and your skills while having a great time.

Freestar Bay Isle

Freestar Bay crowd_001

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Freestar%20Bay%20Isle/74/128/501

Freestar Bay is a definite must if you want to know whats up in the music scene in the virtual world.  The best way to do this is to take the surl above, wait for it to rez, then grab the notecards that the greeter gives.  There are regular events and live music gigs so you will always have something to look forward to.  The pic above was taken at a Noma Falta concert.  She and other great musicians perform there regularly and with the enthusiastic fans that come with them, you’ll have a great time!

If you are a real world musician looking for a virtual world audience, then you should come to Freestar Bay and contact Freestar Tammas.  See you there!

Ministry of Motion

Ministry of Motion_002

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nomasha%20Syaka/114/119/21

So….you think you can dance?  If the answer is no, or if the only dance moves you have are freebie and, ahem, inferior quality dance moves, then perhaps you should TP over to the Ministry of Motion!  They have Jamiroquai (YAY!), Beyonce, John Travolta, Michael Jackson, and other well known dancer moves as well as acid/jazz/funk/soul/disco, chilled/freestylin, street/hip hop, contemporary, 60’s/20’s, metal, and more.  Not only that, but you’ll find the right animation for your stage moves too!  Do you wail on the electric guitar?  Play a mean jazz piano?  Or just rock the house with your amazing stage presence?  You’ll find the right move for your groove here at the Ministry of Motion.  The sim is a whimsical and fun place to just peek around while trying all the dances.  More than dances are sold here…I saw a mean attack shark.  Beware!  You may even meet an interesting character like I did.  Meet Neo in the pic above.  Don’t judge!  I’ve found the most interesting folks in SL masquerade behind the most unusual avatars.  Come over, bring friends…and some lindens.  Some funky fresh moves here.

Laguna Beach Club

Laguna Beach Club_002

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Laguna/123/37/26

Originally built for MTV a few years back, Laguna Beach Club remains one of the best beach clubs in Second Life.  Although MTV is no longer affiliated with the club, it still has the most amazing laid back, breezy style that begs for people to hang out and chill while enjoying great music.  Open spaces filled with attractive and comfy seating, dance floor, and stage take up the main spaces upon entering.  Additionally, shops filled with swim gear and other miscellaneous items can be found here, including Starry Nights, a collection of prim stars that one can place on their property…beautiful!

I had the pleasure of running into the new owner, Love Repine, while visiting recently.  As an experienced club owner, he formerly owned The Zanzibar, the club is sure to maintain it’s amazing ambiance and cool factor.  Mr. Repine stated that he wanted to “keep the  Laguna vibe just fresh it up a touch”.  Now, that is music to my ears!  He also says that he will begin to schedule live music soon.  I can’t wait!  So, I recommend that you join the group to keep informed of events and live music gigs.  I’ll be seeing you there!

Splitsville Bowling Alley and Cl

Splitsville Bowling and Music

http://slurl.com/secondlife/InWorld%20Park/183/193/25

Bowling in SL?  Yep, they’ve got it.  And no better place to experience it than at Splitsville!  Just grab your free glove and bowling hud, wear them, stand in position, grab a ball, click “new game” on the game controller, then click “throw ball” on your game hud.  What happens next depends on your skill level.  What happened after I rolled the ball?  Well, lets just say, that thanks to SL…there is a move worse than a gutterball.  And that is the kind of throw I made.  Woohoo!  Give the whole sim a look-over.  Not only does it offer bowling, but a whole lotta other fun activities.  One thing you should absolutely do is grab a notecard of the upcoming music events.  The club gets a respectable number of quality live music gigs on a regular basis.  With lots of rock n’ roll tunes playing, and a retro feel, it’s an all around great place to rock around the clock!

Greenies Home Rezzable

Greenies Home Rezzable_001

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Greenies%20Home%20Rezzable/119/124/32

The mothership is calling!  Where else in the world can you dance with aliens, Princess Leia and an assortment of other interesting folks but at Greenies?  Today they previewed the spaceship building contest submissions and threw in a little dance party along with it.  Fun, festive, and definitely out of this world.  If you are unfamiliar with this sim…it’s built in a giant megaprim scale so that all avatars are at face level with….errrrr, cockroaches.   Ewwwww!  There are many hidden surprises here, things are designed to be explored and interacted with…all with FUN in mind!   If you wanna be a little Greenie yourself, head over to the shop for a big selection of alien avatars and other space gadgets. Sooo, pardon me while I go bust a move with Marvin the Martian….