Autumn has arrived at La Vie en Rose in Second Life, bringing a fresh wave of colour to the familiar landscape. While the layout of the sky garden remains much the same, the grasses now shimmer gold and the trees blaze with rich reds and oranges. It’s a seasonal renewal by Beautiful Requiem and Rose Ulrik that transforms the atmosphere, offering a perfect excuse to return and wander once more.
I’ve written about La Vie en Rose before, when its peaceful tropical setting first opened to visitors. The ground level, with its large lake, beach, rental houses and abundant bird life, remains unchanged. However, up above , the seasons have changed on the sky platform known as ‘the garden’, where a fresh burst of autumn has arrived.
The trees and grasses add vinrant colours to the garden
A Seasonal Renewal
The renewal was once again created by Beautiful Requiem (BeautifulDisaster Requiem) and Rose Ulrik (Rose Siabonne), and while the basic configeration of the platform is much as before, with the ponds, rocks, and houses still in place, the mood has changed entirely with the turn of the seasons.
Poppies add contrasting colour, here and there in the field
Autumn Colours Across the Platform
To the east, grasses now sweep across the land in shades of yellow, punctuated with little dots of red poppies. The western side, where the houses sit, is ablaze with trees in vivid autumn colours. A few new details, birds here and there, subtle changes in planting, but the real transformation lies in the trees and grasses.
It is a striking renewal: familiar, yet freshly alive in autumn tones, amd a visit is highly recommended.
Some of the birds have been added during the autumnal relandscaping.
If you’d like to see more places like this, follow my blog,Exploring Second Life, where I share both the grand builds and the smaller “quick stops” that make the grid so rewarding.
Hi-Cafe has reopened in Second Life! The much-loved café by designer Hico Spicy has returned in a new Heterocera location along Route 3. With glowing autumn colours, seasonal treats, and its familiar cats, the café once again offers a cosy, welcoming stop for visitors.
I last blogged about Hi-Cafe back in December 2024, when it was decorated for Christmas and full of festive cheer, serving gingerbread loaf, macarons, and other seasonal fare. Outside, snow covered the ground.
Since then, the café closed for a while and has now been rebuilt on a new site. Would I enjoy it as much as the old place? Well, I went to see.
Hi Cafe, viewed from Route 3
A Hi-Café Beside Route 3
The new Hi-Cafe sits adjacent to Route 3 on the mainland continent of Heterocera. Almost directly across the road lies the entrance to the Mount Campion National Forest, a popular destination for hiking, horse riding, and exploring—including Mount Campion itself, the highest peak on mainland.
A picture of Hi-Cafe taken from the air – September 2025
While Route 3 and the café entrance are in the Highflyer region, most of Hi-Cafe lies across the border in Sprawler. Region crossings can be tricky, but Hico Spicy’s landscaping makes the transition barely noticeable, and she has thoughtfully placed warning signs at the boundary.
Warning – Sim Crossing
First Impressions
Stepping from the road, the café stands within a paved courtyard. Trees blaze with fiery autumnal colours, leaves scatter across the stones, and flower beds planted with cosmos add splashes of brightness.
Unlike the previous site, there are no outside tables and chairs—winter is coming, after all—but two wrought iron benches curve around trees in the courtyard, offering pleasant places to sit, read, or enjoy the autumn sunshine.
Sitting outside at Hi-Cafe
Inside the Hi-Café Second Life
Inside, Hi-Cafe is a light, airy, and welcoming space. Thoughtful touches are everywhere: potted plants, bookshelves, record sleeves, and posters.
What makes Hi-Cafe stand out among Second Life’s many cafés is the attention to detail. The food isn’t just generic décor—it’s carefully chosen and often changed. Currently, visitors can enjoy apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll cake, and harvest crème donuts.
The rear wall is almost entirely glass, flooding the café with natural light and offering excellent views of the courtyard with its fountain, flower beds, trees, and statues.
Bookshelves at Hi-Cafe- Notice the catsMouthwatering Fare freshly backed at Hi-Cafe
Cats and Quiet Details
As in past incarnations, cats abound, lounging casually as though the café were their home (and perhaps it is).
Themes echo cleverly throughout: cat statues on the bookshelves, and in the courtyard, two doves perching on the fountain mirror the embracing statues nearby. These small touches give Hi-Cafe its unique charm.
Two white does mirror the statues in the background. – photo Hico Spicy
Sounds, Light, and Atmosphere
Outside, the constant but gentle sound of the fountain adds to the relaxing mood. A radio stream is available (Acid Jazz), though I preferred the quiet.
The shared lighting (EEP) setting suits the build beautifully, though experimenting with Midnight can highlight the café lights in a striking way. Generously, Hico Spicy has created a custom EEP environment setting for Hi-Cafe, free to collect near the fountain—beside a visitors’ book for comments.
Leave your comments in the Visitors book and collect the free EEP
Photographer-Friendly
Photographers are welcome here. Group members (free to join) may rez props for up to 60 minutes, making the café a great setting for creative shoots.
A small tip jar sits on the counter—if you enjoy your visit and can spare a few Lindens, I’m sure they’d be appreciated.
Two of the many cats at Hi-Cafe
A Must-Visit Destination
Whether you’re seeking a cosy escape alone or with friends, a beautifully decorated café as a photo backdrop, or simply a moment of seasonal magic, Hi-Cafe is once again one of Second Life’s most inviting spots.
The Blackthorne Book Cafe Second LifeLa Fee Verte – Second Life
If you’d like to see more places like this, follow my blog,Exploring Second Life, where I share both the grand builds and the smaller “quick stops” that make the grid so rewarding.
Sometimes the best Second Life destinations aren’t vast regions but smaller, thoughtfully designed spaces. Blackthorne Book Cafe is one of those hidden corners worth a stop. It offers a mix of woodland atmosphere, rich autumn tones, and a warm book-themed café.
An outdoor fireplace at Blackthorne Book Cafe, Second Life
Woodland Setting
The landing point at Blackthorne Book Cafe (created by Belvie Blackthorne / belvie.lexington) places you high in the sky at 4026 metres, in a skybox. Despite being compact, the outdoor setting feels layered and inviting, with pines and larches in rich autumnal shades of red and brown and the ground covered in scattered leaves and patchy brown grass.
Gaps among the trees allow division of the area into smaller sections; these little nooks afford more secluded places to sit , whether alone with a book or in company with friends or a loved one.
Sitting at Blackthorne Book Cafe Second Life
Inside the Cafe
Step inside and you’ll find a cosy, bookish café atmosphere. There are plenty of places to sit, surrounded by shelves of books in different shapes and styles. Even the cafe’s herbs are in book-shaped pots! It’s a playful little detail that carries the theme throughout.
Book-shaped plant pots at Blackthorne Book Cafe Second Life
The design leans into comfort and imagination, rather than spectacle. It’s not about being a grand destination but about creating a mood: the feeling of slipping into a quiet, slightly magical corner of Second Life where books and conversation take centre stage.
A reading nook inside the Blackthorne Book Cafe in Second Life.
If you’re looking for somewhere that blends woodland charm, rich autumn colours, and a cosy café theme, Blackthorne Book Cafe is worth a visit.
‘A nook in a book’ at Blackthorne Book Cafe, Second life
Exploring Second Life
If you would like to see more places like this, follow my blog, Exploring Second Life. I’ll keep sharing both the grand regions and some smaller “quick stops” that make the grid such fun to explore.
