Lady Builds the Blues

A trip to Forest of Azure is a ride into the blue, to a world counterposed between comfort and cages, spanning epochs from Mid-victorian to Medieval, from Japanese to European. It captures the many moods of its maker, Forest Azure.

Your visit starts with art, on a sky platform above the main build. The theme is adult, about passion and desire, the human condition, the need to be wanted. Hot stuff, laid out elegantly in a crystal hall.

The Full Nico

 Nico Kaliani is a bit of a lunatic. In the best possible way. 

Moon enthusiast. Builder of eminent assemblages. Photography buff. Maker of unusual items, and hilarious comments. Nico is all this but perhaps she is known best as the witch of the wardrobe, for her skill in pairing mesh clothes to make chic outfits that you can find in her freebie store on Xinashi,  Just to confirm that there's more going on here than matching heels and halter necks, she invited us in to see two sides of her Copykat life, for the second hour of this week's Safari. 

Up first, some yoga. Oh, addresses at the end of the post. I've put the hop link, see if you like it.

Eros Yoga Center Greeter: Hello again, Welcome back to the Eros Yoga Center.

Whirli Placebo: should we get naked now?

Lucy Afarensis: I am afraid with my osgrid avie that I might not be able to get my clothes back. Having inventory probs lately

Mal Burns: tried going naked but some of my kit was missing

Nico Kaliani: Well, we are all naked under our clothes... So no need

James Atlloud: lol - my underwear is painted on! ha

Whirli Placebo: :( I was looking forward to find out what kit Mal was missing

Forest Azure: what am i doing! giving a massage? ... a head massage?

Nico Kaliani: People like to come for the lovely atmosphere and relaxing music. Whether they make use of the adult animations... well, I don't pry

Thirza Ember: this is why I wore pants

Star Ravenhurst: I am afraid to touch any more of the buttons on that menu

Angelic Kisses: lol

Whirli Placebo: hahaha star!  be adventurous!

Caro in the Clouds

Nico Kaliani: I'm prepared. 

I had a lobotomy to reduce my complexity 

Nebula, on OSGrid, is a classic art venue that is well-loved all over opensim. All the Caro Fayray regions on the grid are showcases of variety, explosive and expansive beauty, and a great sense of humor, along with a keen delight in the natural world. We met on the beach at Nebula, where towels were laid out around the camp fire, and palm trees doubled as pole dance positions. HG address as always at the end of the post.

Caro Fayray: I'm  so  nervous:)

Jim Bean: Hi Caro :) mmm, laaaag and someone stole all my clothes while I was tping :) heeello happy bunch

James.Atlloud: I'm feeling so nice and toasty near the fire.

Caro Fayray: is that everyone? Hello everyone and welcome to Nebula. I have no idea how the region will perform and am not a techie so maybe take the notecard from the board. Then you can always return if you want in case we all poof. Maybe take the notecard from the board. Then you can always return if you want in case we all poof. I  spend a  lot of time  here :)

Crescent Roll

 Winxtropia Grid has so much going for it, it's almost a crime for us to do a double dip this season by returning there, and going to the same region - but who could resist, when it's for the purpose of enjoying more Sound music by Cutuelala Artis. HG Address, as always, at the end of the post.

Cuteulala Artis, photo by C Calhoun

Our second destination to celebrate Cornflakes Week 2023, was therefore back at the great Organ of Sound, in company with Boujee Gamergirl, Farstar Enoch and the aforementioned Cute, under a dome designed by YumYum Komani.

Cuteulala Artis: hi all! I will need to preload the sounds before i play full songs... for the best sound try to be near the circle or turn your volume quite up. This is a live in world musical experience no media is needed

Star Ravenhurst: We have been here before. This is awesome!

Key of C

If you're not familiar with the concept of Cornflakes Week, a totally Opensim event started in 2015 and unconnected with any national, religious, or otherwise real-world-based festival, and not limited to any one grid, or particular style of celebrating, then you can read about its Corny origins here and  here, and about the man who inspired the whole thing here and  here. 

Waiting at the Clubhouse before Go Time

Our first destination for our festivities was a new build, purpose made, by Nyx Breen, over on Pangea grid, HG Address as ever, at the end of the post. 

Nyx called the build 'Key of C' which works on enough levels that you can spend the next half hour enjoying the poetics of the name. A vivacious paradox of complex simplicity, the size and detail and laglessness of Nyx's work is always a treat, and met the 'standard' - if there is one - of a Corny venue. None better. 

Whirli Placebo agreed to sing for us which was so good on so many levels. If you don't know his music, or know it and want a wider window on his originals and covers, check out his Youtube Channel  and look for him at music venues in SL and Opensim and more.  You can even download yesterday's show here, if you like! Catch him in SL every Wednesday at 10 am SLT at Cafe Musique Whirli's mercurial masculinity always takes the long view of life with subtle sensitivity and chronicles its fragility and foolishness through a blend of his original songs and originally rendered covers. It was a perfect fit for this build

Safari meets The Man

 LadyK Braveheart: I purposefully left Cali in RL, why would I want to go back? LOL...

Angelic Kisses: lol

Doctor Dave: Because we are FUN.

Dr Dave

Grid Nomad: Hi everyone, nice to meet you!

Nara Nook: cool cars

Grid Nomad, pic by R. Kisses

Angelic Kisses: ツ  hello Nomad

Thirza Ember: ok we are just missing Aphra and Roff I think

LadyK Braveheart: -*- HeLLo-*-

James Atlloud: Hello

Beth Ghostraven: Aphra might be feeding her cat,  it was sitting in front of her screen, lol

Grid Nomad: cats are kinda demanding that way lol

Angelic Kisses: and Roff was snapping pics

Youca Godel: Welcome everyone.  This is a recreation of Wet Willie's a bar in the bay area Delta

Doctor Dave: Welcome everyone to our short but chaotic tour of Burning Man.

Grid Nomad: Can I take some pics of ya'll? We are so excited you have come to visit!

Thirza Ember: we would be offended if you didn't

James Atlloud: Sure!  We luv photoz!

Doctor Dave: Burning Man is an Art Festival focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.   It's held the week before labor day but for the organizers and volunteers in months of effort setting up and tearing down.  The event has been located since 1991 at Black Rock City.   We will visit that later.

At Atlantis

A trip to Bridgemere  has been much overdue for the Safari, and because of differences in timezones (shakes fist at round planet!) it wasn't possible for us to meet all the crew. But Hairy Thor very kindly deputized as guide and factotum, and we thank him for that. The HG Address for this trip is - as always - at the end of the post.

James Atlloud: huh, I thought I was running late - lol

Thirza Ember: No, perfect timing, whenever you guys are ready, Hairy awaits us at destination 1 - please use the Local environment setting, go ahead and jump to Atlantis on Bridgemere first

Beth Ghostraven: see you there!

Somehow my foolish upgrade to the latest FS for opensim meant my Environments don't work right. Every time I land on the Atlantis sim on Bridgemere, I see a sky with Saturn in it. The sky, Hairy assured us several times, has Jupiter in it. 

For people without a borked Firestorm viewer, you no doubt see the correct sky immediately. If you don't, then open Quick Preferences on your toolbar, and hit the little X next to 'Personal Lighting'.  Since that wasn't an option for me, and remembering that Azi Az also uses this particular EEP, I hopped over to Dew Drop Islands on Shipyards Grid, loaded the sky there, and then just kept it active (by not touching environment settings) when I jumped over to Bridgemere.

IMA Parcel Board v09dev: Welcome back. Please enjoy your stay at Atlantis.

Beth Ghostraven: Hairy, will you be using text or voice for the tour?

Hairy Thor: Thirza suggested text for today

Beth Ghostraven: ok thanks, I appreciate it

Forest Azure: /me is, as always, confused by the 2 thirza's

Thirza Ember: lol, my cunning plan

Star Ravenhurst: So many of us!

Dorena Forever !

 Our two destinations this week took us to places of great historical significance in the history of opensim, now reaching well into its second decade. Grids and projects, residents and regions have all come and gone over these many years, and the virtual is often dismissed as temporary - a fad, a transient pastime. But our stops on this Safari prove that the situation is to a large extent otherwise. Through the vicissitudes of  code and server reliability, in the face of drama and data loss, some regions and their residents have endured and flourished.

This week we celebrated with Dorena her birthday which is just a week or so separated from the 'birthday' of the Germán grid that bears her name. Anachron Young invited us to a party on a spot full of meaning for the grid -the original sim where the whole adventure began!.

Dorena1 Verne: nice to see you:-)

Loru Destiny: Hello welcome Safarians :-)

James Atlloud: 32 avatars!  wow

Crazy Like A Foxx

Foxx Bode: hi all. Welcome at Red Dragon estate, This region is old and a tad "primmy" so give it some time to load, and zoom around :)

Red Dragon - Foxx's home on OSGrid

Star Ravenhurst: This build is AMAZING!! I just cammed out!

Rural Ruritania Rules!

'You're a good fellow. Oh, you're English, but you're a good fellow.'

Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda

Xi Shi's rural Ruritania build was our second stop on Safari this week, it's located on Littlefield Grid and although rich with scripted gems all over, was really easy to rez on. Our point of arrival was the glorious green cricket pitch, where Xi and some of her closest friends were there to meet us. Address, as always, at the end of the post.

Dozens of movies, and numerous talking figures to help you guess just which screen gem is being hinted at in the form of tableaux and vignettes spread around this lovely sim. Add an impressive train line, some delicately beautiful mesh architecture, and you have a region fit for royalty. In the usual spirit of our Safari trips, this is not an exhaustive tour of every single feature, but a glimpse - after all, the point is that we all visit these delightful venues again, and often. That's our goal.

For simplicity's sake, the included NPC dialogue throughout this article is shown in italics.

postman: pedals off sharpish before the bus comes

Road-roller driver: Eh watch out for crazy drivers 'ere! I just had a fellow tear away from me and nearly 'it the bus after 'e stopped and asked where a bloke could 'ave some fun in this place. I just pointed 'im to the 'arbour and off he went like shite from a shovel !! Loony bugger

Xi Shi: I think I might have to translate some of that for a few

Alan Scot: *-* YeSS! *-*  whats a shovel ? ( kidding)

Tina Bey: hola a todos

Xi Shi: oh my, all at once... ok who's batting first?

Mal Burns: nicely mowed lawn!

chasty Slavicz: Hi Star and Jupiter. Ard, Mal, Frank, welcome

TeriMar Galuptra: Should we be wearing heels on the cricket pitch? It's worse than football boots...

Frank Gresham: cricket time

Ernest Moncrieff: We are the village green preservation society

Forest Azure: i have no idea how cricket goes

Cosi Dumont: nor have i ... i only know its very british ... haha

Jupiter Rowland: Landing on a cricket ground like a Chesterfield sofa...

Alan Scot: that model airplane never crashes

Xi Shi: I'm hoping that wont change either!

Zadijah Ahmed: it is time!!!!!

Big Fun in Little Wales

The Belgian treat Speculoos is a sweet cookie, the name being derived from the Latin for 'mirror' referring to the way each cookie mirrors the shape and pattern of the wooden biscuit molds used to make them. In virtual worlds, Speculoos is a grid with Belgian roots and a long history, and it's home to Susannah Avonside, and a lovely build reflecting her native Wales. 

Apologies for the photos, turns out upgrading Firestorm was a bad idea - no big shock there.Susannah Avonside: Welcome! this is the second iteration of my build here, if you'd like an impression of what the previous build was like you can find an interview Thirza did with me some 11 years ago now on her blog. Those of you with avatars taller than 2m might find it difficult to enter the buildings, so it's a case of shrink, or do a lot of camming

Ange Menges: You are building all that alone Susannah ?

Susannah Avonside: yes, I do all my own building, this is just one of my projects, I have several on the go at the moment in OSGrid

Lavia Lavine: That's awesome Susannah, Well done

Ieko and the Never Ending Circus

A couple of weeks ago the Safari visited the sim of Ieko Catnap aka Ieko Logic, on grid Barefoot Dreamers. The region has an unusual name, and a very beautiful appearance. Ieko was kind enough to share some thoughts about her creativity with the group, here's what she said.

ieko Logic (fr -> en): "Never Ending Story" is my romantic version of a plot of land of different styles gathered around a Provencal village (South of the France), including a market, a café, a circus and some adapted buildings. 

 ieko Logic (fr -> en): Everything was built as and when I found myself keeping the initial state of mind.   Let's start with the market. There is a girl who watered her birthday too much yesterday in the tower

Seaside Safari

Ernest Moncrieff: very 'hygge' here

This week's trip took us to a pair of maritime sims, first the bright  and beautiful city of Tromso, Norway, on CCI grid, then to Alanna, a boating venue on Craft Grid. HG Addresses, as usual, at the end of the post. 

SIWAS S: Welcome to Norge, I hope you will enjoy the stay

Beth Ghostraven: thanks SIWAS!

Ard Rhys: Hi Siwas

Angelic Kisses: Thank you

SoA BAD: welcome all

Cute Tunes on Winxtropia

It was our second stop of the Safari, and we had experienced a bit of lag earlier in the day. Luckily, that didn't stop the group from powering through, and not one among them regrets sticking with the adventure - indeed, quite the reverse. Our second stop brought us in contact with something unique and beautiful and we all felt privileged to be there, to experience it. The message came up - "You are now at Crescent Melody, Instrument Testing (150, 128, 21)"

Forest Azure: phew :)

Boujee Gamergirl: Hi Welcome

Star Ravenhurst: тμαηк чøυ ѕσσ мυ¢н【ツ】☺

The Cream of Carima

Thirza Ember: here we come...

Primus Caproni: we are prepared ^^

Primus Caproni: Hello all travelers

Forest Azure: hello

Fitheach Eun: Hi Primus

Arriving at the Harbour, that's Alan in the white hat.

Edwin: Hey ihr da!  Hört euch die Neugikeiten an!

Alan Scot: verr ees my translator

Primus Caproni: No Problem all the following will be done in english

Alexandria Dreaming

 Ancient Alexandria, a city unlike any other, the capital of Hellenic Egypt, one of the great international ports of its day, one of those rare creations, a planned city,  and the burial place of Alexander the Great and where , about 300 years later, Cleopatra lived and loved. It was the home of one of the seven Wonders of the world, together with a fabled Library, dozens of schools,  and was a place where historians, philosophers, scientists, astronomers, artists and thinkers of every kind lived, discoursed, and created.   The city where Heron came up with all his ingenious inventions, where Euclid spent most of his adult life, where the Septuagint was created, and where the architect Parmenion oversaw the sculptural beatification of the city in its early days. 

It was a city built in the Hellenic style, with long straight roads, well defined neighborhoods or quarters for different ethnicities, and strong defences both landward and on the sea side. The city had two large harbours divided by a causeway leading to the island of Pharos with its famed lighthouse.  To the East, the Great Harbour was overlooked by the royal palace, and had two smaller harbours within it. To the West was the Eunostus Harbour, named for the god of flour - Alexandria was the port from which the abundant grain of Egypt was shipped all around the Mediterranean world.

How sad, then, to think that you can no longer walk these magnificent streets, full of monumental buildings. But wait - yes you can! Ferd Frederix and his team have been working on a years-long project to bring Alexandria back to life, on Outworldz grid. 

These pictures were taken on the enormous build that seems to go on forever, with fields, towers, ordinary houses, fortifications, palaces and of course water everywhere. Not just the sea, but the lifegiving canal that ran through the city. 

Ferd Fredrix: Joe Builder, me, and Debbie Edwards made it. Joe is a contractor. I hired him to do a lot (as in a LOT) of uploading of mesh and he did a lot of the building and placement while I worked on the roads and bridges and the tower. Then we did it all again for the other five 4X4 regions. 

Alexandria's lighthouse has fired up the fantasy of historians, engineers, and storytellers of every era. It was begun in 300 years before the birth of Christ and survived, battered by earthquakes and neglect until the 1400's, when the ruins of the building were taken to form part of the nearby fortress of Quait Bay. The exact location of the lighthouse was lost until the 1990s when a team of French underwater archaeologists found remains that pinpointed the spot where it stood. 

It's a city of dreams. Alexandria was founded by Alexander in 331 BC as he swept across Asia conquering all in his path, with an eye to creating a new capital for Egypt, away from the old-fashioned, hidebound city of Memphis. 

In reality, Alexander never lived to see the city flourishing; after his death in 323 BC aged just 32, his empire was carved up between his generals and Alexandria fell to the Ptolemy family, who built, it is thought, the famous Library as a showplace of the culture of the Eastern half of the Mediterranean, rather than as a place of learning. 

Alexander was buried in a massive tomb in the city, but like so much else, its exact location and appearance are lost to us. A few travel writers and historians give some glimpses that allow a certain amount of informed speculation, and that's really all we have to go on.

  The fractured dynasty of the Ptolemies lasted about three centuries, and eventually leads to Cleopatra, her run-ins with a couple of Caesars, an asp and the beginning of the end of the grand city as a showcase for luxury and learning.

But on Outworldz, it's possible to stop the clock and explore the world as it would have been in her day. It wasn't always easy! 

Ferd Fredrix: We added Cleopatra's rooms and a scratch built avatar. Cleopatra's avatar alone took over a year.  Isis Ophelia's Egypt and that made me consider doing the entire city. Then followed 6 months of planning and research, with a long wait for Assassins Creed Origins to come out so we would have reference photos. It took 3 years to complete what it is today.

It's an extraordinary achievement, and a huge investment not only in time and talent but hard cash too - and the attention to detail and quality are evident  everywhere. This Map screenshot gives you an idea of the build - but when you visit, don't be surprised if you find it even bigger. 

Flowers, fields, statues, lighting, sound, and atmosphere - the place is full of it.

Plenty of cuteness, too especially for cat lovers!  

The wonderful thing about this build is to see a scene like this, and know the 'backdrop' is actually a place you can walk or ride to, across the region.

To wander alone here is to feel the oppressive loneliness of a city where it often feels like the people have just stepped away - swept away or turned to invisible ghosts. It's an appropriate sensation, in this unreachable city, so faded and ground away - so unfairly, when one things of all the other ancient cities - Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Damascus , that still have so many visible fragments to remind of those glory days and layers of history.

Alexandria endured repeated onslaughts by the Romans and those who followed in the faltering footsteps of the empire, in terms of war, siege, and appropriation, and commercial and natural crises over the years - it even got hit by a tsunami in 365 AD. The famous Library, often held up as a figure of dramatic tragedy, in reality was damaged and destroyed not all in a single moment, but through vandalism, violence and above all neglect over many years. Here is a painting of a trireme, and Ferd's 3D version of the same - impressive!

If the build captures the fragility of all this magnificence in its lonely streets, it also does, here and there, with animesh or NPC figures, bring the build back to a more human dimension, and the spell is completed.  Far from over, this is an ongoing work of art - who knows when or even if Ferd will ever feel that he has finished it. While some of the mesh was purchased, plenty of bits are his original work, like this ship, translated from a 2D painting into  3D perfection. This is a megaregion that you'll love whether you are a history buff, of just want to immerse yourself in an Egyptian fantasy of your own dreaming. 

HG Address: www.outworldz.com:9000:Alexandria

In the Zone

 Zone Nations grid was our second stop this week, for the opening Safari of 2023, and our host was Druskus, who welcomed us to his fantasy sim HG Welcome along with Fiona Saiman, Cleopatra Abu, Ares Kytori who all created a great party atmosphere for us right off the bat.  

The group arrives at Zone Nations. Photo by Fitheach Eun

Druskus gave us some info about the grid and himself - he told us he manages both the Grid and the utilities, he is an Italian who works in the IT field. In the OpenSource world "he is renowned in the beautiful country for his web activities in the JOOMLA and has been mentioned in several books by the Hoeply publishing house on intermediate-level technical texts related to JOOMLA! and is considered a real reference, at the Italian level, for the implementation of Communities and Social Networks."

Thirza Ember: anyone here familiar with Joomla?

Setting the Tone

 While community is at the heart of the Safari experience, we also aim for quality, and our kick-off event for the first season of 2023 really set the tone. Lorin Tone, and Alia Soulstar, two names that convey a sense of excellence. The build? An immersive experience based on the film 2001 A Space Odyssey.

This is opensim artistry at its best.  Not a rip-off replica, but a multi sensory, walkable meditation on a much loved and discussed classic, spread over a VAR that in SL would cost you in tier something like the rent of a small house. 

Lorin Tone

There were about 20 of us on 3rd Rock Grid to meet our host and learn the story behind the build. The fun starts in a dome at ground level, where there is a warning that if you don't do well around flashing optical effects, this build might not be for you. The address, is of course, at the end of this post.

Back in Busy-ness

 Safari trips return tomorrow Wednesday 4 January at the usual time 12 noon Pacific (SLT) with another ten week season of two hour, two destination events. Busy busy!

Once again, we will be going to a whole range of different grids, and exploring many different themes - meeting people interested in art, tech, and community, and willing to share their builds and projects with us all.  To know more about events ahead of time, you can check out the following social media - Discord, MeWe, Facebook, and Opensimworld - usually events are advertised two or three days in advance. As usual we depart from the Clubhouse, join us there just before 12 noon to get last minute info and LMs,  hg.osgrid.org:80:hg safari

Ta ta, 22

It's that time of year when there are retrospectives everywhere... so here's one about Opensim. 

Plenty more things happened than the few that are listed here, so if you have a special memory of an Opensim milestone from 2022 that is not mentioned here, go ahead and drop it in the comments.

Time flies - or does it? over on Sauce, Aire Mille Flux

Opensim has continued to grow in 2022, in every way.

A Safari Year

 What a year it's been! The Safari started up in January, in the usual timeslot, Wednesdays from 12 noon SLT, but with a new sim on OSGrid courtesy of Ange Menges. The immediate response by old fans and new of the weekly group hypergridding concept was great - thank you all. 

Prodyck, Lux, Frank and Truelie

The more familiar clubhouse on Francogrid had become unworkable - just teleporting to the grid had become difficult, and regions would often be unavailable for days. The heart of the problem was an issue with server hosts, and as much as Francogrid was the home of the Safari, it seemed unlikely to have a future there.

For that reason, I got busy immediately with porting most of the Safari's Francogrid assets over to other grids. 

Aphra, Cherry, Lifted Pixel, and Mal

It was a time consuming process, with permissions and scripts playing up a lot of the time due to

Mouse Look

 If you like ice and mice and gnomes and Hunts with useful gifts, then the upcoming OSGrid hunt by Nani Ferguson and Ange Menges - an opensim season stretching back a decade! - is for you.

The sim's name is Khione, a wintry figure from Greek Mythology - daughter of an Athenian princess and the North Wind - who has risen to fame thanks to the Percy Jackson novels. But let's stick to openim ... this Hunt as always begins with a little backstory and aHUD, supplied by the Snowman.Use the HUD to find the next place to go. 

Bugged out

You've got one. We all do.

It's not a Big Mac, and it's not an Apple Mac. It's not even a rain mac.

But it is a MAC. 

This is the definition by some dudes at Bluecat  ...  Either you already know this, or else you don't care. Why should you? Well, ordinarily, no reason, but for your hypergridding pleasure it may be at issue. Because people are getting banned.

Take the lovely Eva Noir, the least bannable person in opensim, probably. Sweet, creative, helpful, respectful of all. 

Yet she got the heave-ho from a grid I won't mention (there were LoTR elements to the build, so that leaves the field wide open) because I'm at my legal limit of 'European dramedy' this week.

Those of us who get a lot of haters and dufuses in our Chat would probably just shake the dust from our feet and move on at the mere mention of being banned/blocked, but -dear grid owners- please take a moment to think before you just ban the ass of some poor soul. They may be completely innocent, and the experience of being banned can be quite traumatic. 

You're under a lot of stress, sure, but let's try to be civil.

Anyway, Eva reported this situation to Licu Rau, opensim guru and owner of Craft grid, and it turns out that, thanks to some kind of bug going around, multiple people are showing up as having the exact same MAC - physical address. So if you travel with a pal, as Eva did, both of you appear to be on the same machine. This of course raises red flags to a grid owner trying to deal with the constant threat of griefers. 

Licu very correctly opened a MANTIS on the subject. Go here to read all about it.

Wrong mantis

Let us pray.

Canadian Advent - ure

It's always a warm welcome at Novale. As every season comes along it offers a unique opportunity to explore the landscape. The winter is of course an enormous part of the culture of this part of the world, and so the snow lies thickly over the sim, the perfect backdrop to the colorful festive fun.

But there is jeopardy here too - of course! We are, after all, in the land of Alec Trebeck.

 Seriously, take heed of the warning and do not touch Rupert's nose.  Or if you do, be sure that you're wearing warm and tightly fitting underclothes.

Nell'ora del dolore

 Ed è una musica che va

There are perhaps only three Toscas in the world worth knowing about: Tosca the opera by Puccini, the singer Tosca Donati, quoted above and featured below, and the sim Tosca on Soul Grid. 

Tosca is the social heart Soul Grid. Soul is a predominantly German grid, but this sim has an Italianate feel, as though you had stumbled into a village  in Emilia Romagna. A church and an arengario, a piazza, subtle brown stone buildings under terracotta roofs, and a long table set for a village feast beneath a floral pergola.

One sim - but multiple venues. It's no surprise that sim Tosca has often topped the charts  on OpensimWorld for the number of active avatars. Events on Tosca at have a family feel, where no-one is a stranger for very long. The wall of friendship is testimony to this.