The Archangel loved heights. Standing on the summit of the tower that crowned his church, wings upspread, sword uplifted, the devil crawling beneath,…Saint Michael held a place of his own in heaven and on earth…. His place was where the danger was greatest; therefore you find him here. For the same reason he was, while the pagan danger lasted, the patron saint of France. So the Normans, when they were converted to Christianity, put themselves under his powerful protection. So he stood for centures on his Mount in Peril of the Sea, watching across the tremor of the immense ocean — immensi tremor oceani — as Louis XI…inscribed on the collar of the Order of Saint Michael which he created. So soldiers, nobles, and monarchs went on pilgrimage to his shrine; so the common people followed, and still follow, like ourselves….
Henry Adams
Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres, Chapter 1
So, too, may we follow in the footsteps of Henry Adams, us in the virtual recreation of Mont Saint-Michel; but only for a short time, before this electronic, incredibly faithful recreation vanishes into the waters and quicksands of the virtual sea — washed away by that most irresistible of tides, economic circumstances.
Imagine the “desert” this bay provided as the first monk climbed the rock to get close to God. Mix in the mythic tide, which sends the surf speeding eight miles in and out with each tide cycle. Pilgrims would approach across this mudflat mindful of a tide that swept in “at the speed of a galloping horse” (well, maybe a trotting horse…12 mph, or about 17 feet per second).
Quicksand, the thoroughly disorienting fog, and the fact that the sea can encircle unwary hikers added to the peril. Braving these devilish risks for centuries, pilgrims kept their eyes on the spire crowned by their protector, St. Michael, and eventually reached their spiritual goal.
From Rick Steves’ Europe — “France’s Mont Saint-Michel: Magnificence on a Mudflat”
I’ve visited Second Life’s Mont once or twice before in my nearly eight years wandering the Grid, but every time before with a much poorer computer. Now that I have the power in my current box to handle things, and with the news that the Mont will be closing in the near future, I decided it was time for one last visit.
The sim, alas, is best photographed from a distance, in toto; there are few good places to do much photographic work, even inside the abbey, and most of the color is focused in the shops on the bottom thoroughfare. But, if you wander far enough and look hard enough, anywhere you are, you can usually find somewhere to do some posing, and I chose at the Mont this little plot of grass below the rock of the abbey. (I’m not sure what the monument behind me is.) Maren is wearing one out of a series of HUD-controlled patterns for a beautiful dress I discovered; this is being sold by LaVian at Rock Your Rack, along with two other pattern “packs.” The patterned minidress is complemented by the wrapped satin topper, and the selection of patterns or solids (depending on which version you buy) is excellent.
If you haven’t gotten to Rock Your Rack yet, by the way, you have a little under a week as of today before it, too, disappears. The last day is October 11, and the goodies being offered by the designers, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, are sensational. Which, of course, makes me (or Maren here) sensational (grin). Each individual RYR link below will take you to, or mark for you at least, the appropriate store.
This lovely jewelry ensemble is a current group gift from Chop Zuey, celebrating Belle’s anniversary: paired necklaces, earrings and bracelet in gold, with massive single pearl teardrops!
Just as the pose makers don’t get enough credit (fortunately, I know where most of these poses come from for once, and they aren’t vintage– PosESioN, also available at Rock Your Rack), I don’t think the nail designers are getting the credit they deserve for something that helps “polish” a look. Part of that is that they don’t show up when you pull a copy of the “what your wearing” list out of the Appearance window; but we can remember to make a note, people! I’m attempting to remedy that here in recent posts, and so these nails, blazed across the width with strips of tiny diamonds, are from ZOZ’ new GL Fall 2015 set.
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The details:
- Skin: Pink Fuel Kumi (Vanilla – Pure, bwnbrow)
- Hair: Tukinowaguma Shinobun
- Eyes: Poetic Colors Opal Eyes (Sun Wave – small bright)
- Attachments: SLink hands and feet
- Nails: ZOZ GL Fall 2015 palette (available at Rock Your Rack 2015)
- Dress: LaVian AW1516 – Essentials Peanut Butter Jelly (Bag 2, currently available at Rock Your Rack 2015)
- Shoes: Baby Monkey Mambo
- Jewelry: Chop Zuey Thugs N Kisses suite (group gift)
- Makeup (eyeshadow application order): Glamorize Arista Eye Makeup 2 (PunchPurple); .Pekka. Black Eyeliners 3 (vintage); StrawberrySingh.com Eyelashes 1; Glamorize Lumina Lips (Burnt Umber)
Around the Grid 