VW: Second Life
Location: Ottawa, ON
Country: CA
Category: Duché de Coeur
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New horses & touring carriages have arrived in the Duch de Coeur and Skye & I couldn't be happier to have this popular mode of travel back up & running through our estates!
It was a snowy winter morning back in December when we made the shocking discovery.
The competitors loaded up their boats with lucky charms & brave passengers before setting sail on the challenging course that threaded its way through the Duch de Coeur & Rocca Sorrentina.
It was a bit of a wonder that Fortune smiled on everyone and they all made it to the finish line, a bit soggy but mostly intact.
Perhaps the Navigator Challenge is having a beneficial effect on our Shared Seas Sailors as not a shipwreck or lost vessel was to be reported.
There were, however, rumours of some rather aggressive sailing maneuvers conducted by my sister, Skye. Something about her attempting to drive Mercury onto the rocks?
I'm not going to ask too many questions about that.
In any case, all was forgiven as the worthy sailors received their awards.
It's been a whirlwind three months since the Duch de Coeur & Rocca Sorrentina formalized their plans for a closer physical connection between their two realms.
We started with the addition of two, brand-new, sailable regions linking Rocca Sorrentina to the southern shores of Provence Coeur. Then the real work commenced.
We were busy dredging harbours, forming islands and attending to all the little details that make this a magical Second Life destination. A few minor bumps were experienced along the way; I managed to flatten both Provence Coeur Est & Provence Coeur Est2 with one keystroke (note to self: always look above sea level when using the terrain tool especially when it's set to high) but all-in-all the work progressed smoothly.
My biggest contribution to this project was the addition of Port Trianon .
It began, as many new construction projects do, by making some tough decisions about location and existing structures. Subsequently, the old Coeur Fairgrounds, site of many a revelry, was boxed up and removed. I'll always have a soft-spot in my heart for those monthly fairs with the patrons yelling Beer!! and jigging around the apple tree.
We're enjoying another fabulous fall in the Duch de Coeur,
surrounded by blazing colour and ever-deepening piles of leaves.
Thesunset sky takes on a golden hue,
seeming to reflect the richly coloured trees below.
Read more at Duch de Coeur: Fabulous Fall 2013
A fresh breeze is blowing through the Duch de Coeur.
Cool, clean,
it brings the promise of renewal
and
the excitement of change.
We're accustomed to renewal in the Duché. Over the past five years, we've prided ourselves on changing with the seasons and adapting to the times. Even if those timesdid tend to reflect thelate 1700's
Now we'veembarked onan exciting new challenge. Land will be reshaped, rivers will be diverted and the carriage horses will be taught new routes. Old haunts will be removed only to reappear, refreshed in their new locations.
Soon we will be officially inviting you to rediscover our beloved land. Until then, you can still explore to your heart's content and have fun spying out some of the work in progress.
Don't mind the dust, that's just some Coeur magic in the air!
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Photo: Nordic Wild by Head Like an Orange
On March 1, 2013, Saffia Widdershins & Elrik Merlin of Designing Worlds visited us in the Duché and subsequently created this wonderful travelogue.
As well as highlighting some of the Duch's most beautiful areas, this provides some wonderful insights into the history of the Duch, its development and its generalphilosophy.
Read more about it at Designing Worlds explores the beautiful Duchy of the Coeurs
The first manned hot-air balloon, designed by the Montgolfier brothers , takes off from the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, on November 21, 1783
