Daily Archives: May 3, 2022

The pine-shaded island is criss-crossed with nature trails, and while it doesnt have beaches per se, there are secretive rocky coves aplenty. The real fun, however, is to be had at sea; water and jet skiing, paddle boarding, canoeing, fishing and more.

In high summer the islands sheltered west coast is a coveted spot for in-the-know yachties who seek out the limpid, fish-filled waters to drop anchor and enjoy a lazy lunch onboard. The pretty Ibiza cove of Pou des Lleo is five minutes by Highfield tender, or head the other way for to Ibizas laidback sister island of Formentera, where the beaches are peppered with bohemian fish shacks.

By Maya Boyd

The details: From 124,826 a week, sleeping 10 (020 3411 3675; dynamiclives.com). Includes chef, two house staff and boat captain. Fly to Ibiza where the boat will collect you from the beach at Pou des Llo.

Rising from the turquoise Adriatic in Dalmatia, from afar this tiny pine-clad islet appears totally unassuming. Its only as you approach the rocky shoreline, and hear a steady beat and dreamy uplifting melodies drifting across the bay, that you realise youve arrived somewhere rather extraordinary.

Owned by Sibenik City Council, this 136-acre islet is on a 43-year lease to Obonjan Riviera and now owned by local eljko Perekovic, who relaunched it as a family-friendly glamping retreat in 2022. Here, a mix of couples and young families can spend carefree sunny days indulging in yoga and Thai massage below the pines, splashing across the sparkling sea aboard kayaks and SUPs, lounging on waterside sunbeds in the shade of straw parasols, or snoozing on four-posters by the hilltop pool. Come sundown, its cocktails and chill-out music, followed by suppers of grilled fresh fish and Mediterranean salads, or cheerful pizza with chilled lagers, bathed in balmy twilight.

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You don't need to go to the Caribbean for a private island Europe has them too - The Telegraph

An alarm sounds and I wake up in a box room no bigger than an aeroplane toilet. I rise to my feet, twist my body towards a narrow dressing table, and pick up a black wire mask emblazoned with the white outline of a circle. Given its vast catalogue of crossovers, an official Fortnite meets Squid Game mash-up isn't beyond the realms of possibility. But, in this instance, I'm playing in a player-made Squid Game Fortnite roleplay server, wherein I'm filling the shoes of a guard-in-training.

The creative scene in Fortnite has grown exponentially over the last 12 months, with players crafting themed roleplay servers mirroring everything from Home Alone to Cyberpunk 2077, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Prison Break and The Walking Dead among many other real-world properties and fan-driven ideas. From the sublime to the ridiculous, the standard of servers varies pretty widely, but there really is something for everyone, for anyone willing to dig for it. In my current Squid Game adventure, I've now just finished roll call and have received a shopping list of duties. My first order of the day? To oversee the infamous Green Light/Red Light game, and make sure nobody cheats while running the gauntlet. My second? To gather the half-dozen dead bodies inside the pit of the Tug-O-War arena, pack them into coffins, carry them to the morgue and incinerate them on-site. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it. I guess.

"Later, I'm pegging it from zombies in an incredible iteration of Resident Evil's Spencer Mansion, within a roleplay server that so accurately reflects its source material it might be just as fun."

Launched at the tail-end of 2018, Fortnite Creative is a sandbox game mode that runs independently of Fornite Battle Royale. In something more akin to the likes of Garry's Mod, Team Fortress 2 or even Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, players can craft their own 16-player private islands, each with their own quirks and customisable rules; each gated by a unique 'Island Code'. In its earliest stages, Fortnite Creative served as a place for players to join their mates away from the chaos of BR, to host crude variations of classic games such as Frogger and Temple Run, or to adapt endearing multiplayer game modes such as Capture the Flag and Flame Tag.

In 2022, however, Fortnite Creative has now grown into a catalogue of sophisticated maps and modes, performance subculture hubs and roleplay servers. To the latter end, having spoken to the creators of some of my own favourite maps, the Fortnite roleplay scene has grown exponentially over the last six to 12 months, with just about every popular trend, TV show, video game and film adapted and/or shoehorned into Epic's ever-popular universe. From snowboarding to Land Sharks and Samurais, the best Fortnite creative codes offer an insight into the boundless, complementary and readily available creative realms on display. The server count is now so busy that if you think an idea might have its own Fortnite roleplay angle, it almost certainly will.

And so I've now burned enough corpses to justify a promotion to Squid Game guard supervisor. Once shy around the workplace, I'm now loud-mouthed and assured, institutionalised and ordering lesser-qualified staff to sweep the floors of the fallen, and serve surviving contestants with bottled water and a single boiled egg once per day. It's not the most glamorous of jobs, but I'm good at it. Which makes me feel a wee bit uncomfortable in real life. What makes me laugh, on the other hand, is playing a Fortnite-meets-Home Alone take on hide-and-seek in a server inspired by the 1990 hit film. In something that sort-of resembles Spy vs Spy, I find myself being chased around a recreation of the McCallister family home by two hapless player-controlled bandits, laying traps all over the place and doing everything I can to avoid capture. Later, I find myself solving lazer puzzles by jetpack in a Cyberpunk 2077-aping server. And later again, I'm pegging it from zombies in an incredible iteration of Resident Evil's Spencer Mansion, within a roleplay server that so accurately reflects its source material it might be just as fun.

"I find myself cycling through potential ideas worth searching in my downtime, and then can't wait to get back in front of my PC to check if someone, somewhere has created it. "

Through all of this, I've become hooked on the weird and wonderful world of Fortnite roleplay, housed within Fortnite Creative. I find myself cycling through potential ideas worth searching in my downtime, and then can't wait to get back in front of my PC to check if someone, somewhere has created something based on the obscure film or book or television show that's just crossed my mind. And, more often than not, someone, somewhere has.

As mentioned above, the standard of some servers is higher than others, but what makes it all so enjoyable is the creativity of its creators. I've spent a number of years frolicking in and around the GTA 5 roleplay community, and one thing I adore about the general concept of the scene is the fact something so imaginative and inventive exists within a game that's otherwise designed for another purpose. In the case of Grand Theft Auto, it's in the name: this is a game about committing virtual crime, stealing cars and engaging in various other nefarious activities. But within its player-made roleplay scene, a different world exists, with different rules, customs and expectations. In the case of Fortnite, some servers might occupy my time for 10 minutes, while others such as the aforementioned Resident Evil project (keep your eyes peeled for more on this soon) will grip me for several hours in one sitting.

Given the fact Fortnite Battle Royale was born as an evolution of another idea, Fortnite Save the World, the huge strides Fortnite Creative is now making and, indeed, its myriad roleplay servers seems fitting. Having now taken my Squid Game guard simulation as far as I can, I can't wait to take on another outlandish occupation. The question is: which direction should I go in? Whatever you're thinking, I bet there's already something out there that fits the description!

Need some help surviving on the Island? Our Fortnite guide has you covered.

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From Squid Game to Cyberpunk 2077 and Home Alone I'm hooked on weird Fortnite roleplay servers - Gamesradar

My eyeballs must have upgraded with Photoshop while I was asleep. That hypnotically translucent, turquoise tinted water I woke up to just cannot be real.

Of course it is. The Bahamas has the Dom Prignon Rose 1959 Champagne standard of sea. Best in the world. Nothing finer.

So later that morning, as the near-luminous waves drew themselves up a few inches and splashed over me, I felt I was being soothed by a magic potion that had been Photoshopped to 100% cyan and was deliciously washing away two years of pandemic misery.

Id arrived at tiny Half Moon Cay on the Holland America cruise ship Rotterdam, which had sailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the previous afternoon.

Box ticked for wallowing in a tropical sea for the first time in three years, next up was the joy of walking along the white sand beach with those gentle waves spilling over my toes. The fact that the destination turned out to be a beach bar was a splendid coincidence.

Half Moon Cay is an uninhabited private island owned by Holland Americas parent company Carnival Corporation and it is developed for day cruise visitors arriving by tender. Back on board this sleek 2,668-passenger ship, which has the elegant style of an ocean liner, I watched as we sailed away from what is undeniably a gorgeous Bahamian beach to start the voyage down to Curacao and Aruba, off the northern coast of Venezuela.

This is a slightly unusual itinerary as the 2,476-mile return voyage from Florida down to the A and C of the Dutch ABC Islands means three days at sea in a week normally youd only get one on a typical cruise.

So I had bags of time to explore this fine new (ish, launched October 2021) ship the seventh to carry that name for the line and the on-board activities. Or just sit by the pool and bar at the stern and read some books Id saved for the occasion. I did a bit of both.

Each day passengers get a printed list of events and activities and you can also create your own itinerary on the Navigator smartphone app via the ships wi-fi.

For example, I could have gone to a health session for advice about puffy ankles (looking at you and your annoying TV ads, Eamonn Holmes) but preferred the display on flower arranging.

I also attended a couple of fascinating, well-presented and well-attended audio-visual talks in the main theatre one on Marconi and the history of wireless communication, the other a virtual ships tour with Captain Werner Timmers.

Top marks to the boss for a great insight into his vessel and some excellent jokes.

Back to blooms and, given the Dutch heritage of the 149-year-old line, its no surprise to see plenty of fabulous floral creations around the decks.

But these were surpassed by the array of superb modern art most of it linked to contemporary music or wildlife.

I normally use the stairs on a ship, rather than the lifts, to keep up those daily steps, but getting anywhere took ages as Id constantly be stopping to admire the works! (There are 2,645 pieces worth $4.1million on board).

Many are incredibly creative with the likes of vinyl LPs cut into the faces of pop stars, or animals made from recycled materials.

Youre spoiled for choice with dining and the star of the show for me was the $29 extra fee Tamarind, which offers southeast Asian, Chinese and Japanese dishes. The Thai beef salad starter and crispy duck with drunken udon and ginger-chilli glaze main were fab, but the deconstructed yuzu cheesecake was a showstopper.

The fillet steak in the Pinnacle Grill ($39) was right on the money, and you will not have a better Dover sole meunire than in the intimate Rudis Sel De Mer brasserie with its eye-catching ocean-themed plates ($49).

But a special mention for the Grand Dutch Cafe. Hiding in plain sight on Deck 3, I only tried it for lunch on the final day (to my lasting regret).

A simple but delicious Edam toastie, fries with curry ketchup and a proper pint of Heineken was rounded off by a Bossche bol, a ridiculously good profiterole the size of a football (only a slight exaggeration).

Youll also be happy with the main dining room and the Lido food market (shout out for the fresh noodle stir fry stand and, crucially, they have PG Tips tea), while poolside Dive In does a mean burger.

Live music is the key part of entertainment and the resident bands at the BB Kings Blues Club and the Rolling Stone Rock Room were hitting all the right notes.

These are no pub bands, they are great musicians and I checked out both venues each night (they alternate their set times so you drift from one to the other) along with many other passengers. Rock up early if you want a seat.

A fever of excitement, that is. Rotterdams balcony cabins are contemporary, spacious and well equipped I could find no fault. Like all the ships crew, friendly stewards Raka and Sandra did an exemplary job.

I knew very little about the most populated of the ABCs and our second stop, other than it is the home of the eponymous fancy blue liqueur.

Joining a group tour with guide Hetty, we headed to the Hato Caves near the airport. Rich with stalactites and mites, there is also a Bat Cave, with plenty of the little chaps flitting about (they eat nectar and avoid humans!).

Back in the UNESCO world heritage site capital Willemstad, Hetty walked us round the old town to see historic Dutch buildings and the star of the show, the 1888 Queen Emma Bridge, a wobbly pontoon which links Punda and Otrobanda across the harbour and opens for shipping.

From the 550ft long swinging old lady theres a great view of the Handelskade waterfront with its colourful buildings. Bright and cheery it may be, but there is a dark history too as for 145 years it was the heart of the slave trade, with tens of thousands of Africans shipped here in chains to be sold to plantations in the Caribbean and South America.

After hearing all this, Hettys group was in reflective mood as we set off to test the bridges wobbliness.

The port is a 10-minute walk from the bridge, and you pass through the 5ft thick walls of the 19th-century Rif Fort, which now houses smart bars and restaurants and offers great sunset views.

Its just 14 miles off the Venezuelan coast, which can be seen on a clear day, and the third and final stop before the two-day journey back to Florida.

The capital, Oranjestad, is highly commercialised with diamond and souvenir shops, but some historic Dutch buildings remain.

I walked to the 1798 Fort Zoutman and its lighthouse, now a museum, and on to Governors Bay beach, where watching a determined pelican fishing for lunch in the strong trade winds provided much entertainment and three fish for the hungry bird.

Those winds were truly powerful, so much so that as I was strolling past the marina I was accidentally blown straight into Lucys Retired Surfers Bar and on to a seat in the shade.

Purely in the interests of research, and because it was hot, hot, hot, I stayed to test a local Chill beer. Inexplicably, like a duff LFT, the first test was inconclusive, so I had to have another one. Its a Chill wind

After disembarking in Fort Lauderdale I had a day to kill before the return flight and joined an excursion with a Miami airport transfer at the end to Everglades National Park, spotting vultures and alligators from an airboat in the channels between sawgrass. Great fun, time for the terminal, see you later

Holland America Lines Rotterdam will be homeporting in Amsterdam this summer for sailings to Northern Europe, then repositioning to Florida for Caribbean winter itineraries.

bahamas.com; aruba.com; tourismbonaire.com; curacao.com; turksandcaicostourism.com; godominicanrepublic.com

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Incredible blue seas, fabulous art and great live music on a cruise from Florida to the Southern Caribbean - The Mirror

Its Met Gala Monday, which means that literally everyone who is anyone is gathered in New York City tonight for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts annual Costume Institute Gala. (You know, the one run by Anna Wintour.) The thing about the Met Gala is that its not tied to an awards show or anything, but its usually the most fun and interesting red carpet of the year. And you know whos great at wearing jaw-dropping red carpet looks? Beyonce.

Unfortunately for us, we didnt get to see Queen Bey walk the Met Galas red carpet this year. Instead of attending the star-studded event, Beyonc and husband Jay-Z were vacationing in Miami and on private islands near Floridas coast, according to the Daily Mail. We honestly should be used to not seeing her at fashions biggest night at this point because she hasnt graced the event with her presence since 2016 (!!), but we still hold out hope!

Because were all feeling extra nostalgic these days, lets take a walk down memory lane to see some of Beyoncs past looks, shall we? There have been some GOOD ones. I mean, she really had a hot streak going there for a while.

2016: Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

Wearing Givenchy.

2015: China: Through the Looking Glass

Wearing Givenchy again.

Neilson BarnardGetty Images

2014: Charles James: Beyond Fashion

Wearing Givenchy. (Are you sensing a theme?)

Dimitrios KambourisGetty Images

2013: Punk: Chaos to Couture

Wearing Givenchy.

Jamie McCarthyGetty Images

2012: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations

(Yep.) Wearing Givenchy.

Stephen LovekinGetty Images

2011: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Wearing Roberto Cavalli.

Dimitrios KambourisGetty Images

She didnt attend in either 2009 or 2010, so unfortunately we have a bit of a gap after her first year, which was

2008: Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

Wearing Armani Priv.

Stephen LovekinGetty Images

Someone please @ me with details about what star I need to wish upon in order for Bey to be at next years Met, k? Thanks!

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Why Beyonc Skipped the 2022 Met Gala - Cosmopolitan

If anyone proves you dont have to be born here to embody this places spirit, its Mel Meo. Much as anyone has been, Meo was Pine Island, in all its beauty, grit, whimsy and pathos.

The beloved artist and community matriarch died at her Bokeelia home April 20. She was 64.

Although her heart cancer had beencommon knowledge (islands are like that), news of her death was still a shock, as islanders struggledto come to grips. Maybe if she hadnt been so generous, in so many ways, it would have been easier to reckon with her loss, but Meos gifts were showered far and wide.

She helped define the Pine Island aesthetic by turning her artists eye to what illuminatedits character. The design of the Pine Island flag was hers and included a fish house at sunset, mangos, mullet, a Calusa Indian and a bald eagle. The motto suited her as well: Community rooted in caring.

Born in Indianapolis, she moved here as a girl with parents Mable and Rocco and brother David. The family bought what was then the SeaBreeze restaurant on Bokeelia and she worked side by side with her dad, while her mother caught the fish. She graduated from North Fort Myers High and attended Lee County Vocational/High Tech Center to learn welding.

More: Sometimes, surprise endings are the best ... or at least, the sweetest

More: Randell Research Center on Pine Island still evolving after 25 years

Art was always part of her life. "Growing up in Bokeelia, she told The News-Press in 1995, there wasn't a lot to do, so I learned to draw, paint, sew, bake anything to entertain myself,'' Meo said. `"My mom was always into crafts and I learned a lot of that from her. We did a lot of artsy-craftsy things.''

When she and her fisherman future husband Steve Longtook a boat trip to the upscale, private island of Useppa, she was offered a job as cook at the Tarpon Bar. They were later married there.

Meo took several years off to raise her three children, while her husband fished until the 1995 net ban went off like a bomb in the commercial fishing community, sending the industry into a tailspin.

"People have had heart attacks, strokes; I had a stroke recently," she said in an interview five years later "People are stressed to the hilt. The emotional part is never going to be healed. I have to work every day on trying not to blame the people who voted for the net ban and not hold them in contempt. People don't care. They say, `Hey, after five years, get over it.' But it's like if a member of your family dies, try to fill that hole.

"My son is still in shock. Since he was a little guy, he just knew what he wanted to do. Now he's working to get his captain's license to haul people. But that's not what he wants to do. He wants to feed people. We were always proud to feed people. But now we're bad guys."

Yet without the net ban, the world might never have met Meo.

With her husbands main source of income gone, she turned to what she knew: cooking and painting. She opened a funky eatery/gallery combo, Fish-n-Art, in a repurposed island motel court. "It was a natural. My husband's a fisherman. I'm an artist," Meo later recalled. Shed cook and sell her husband's fresh catches from behind a small deli counter and kitchen bearing a caricature of Rocco, on the door. The space was filled with her creations: a powder blue chair with its curvy back that became an ideal canvas for bikini-clad, 1950s bombshell Betty Page;a fish-shaped wood carving painted avocado green declared "Live and let fish" to passers-by who read the commandment plastered on its citrus-colored scales.

"I'm a really good cook, so it caught on really fast," Meo told The News-Press in 2000.

But the place was more than an artsy diner. Saturday nights, Meo, her sister and a friend would tease their hair up into beehives, slip into padded torpedo bras and cat glasses and mount impromptu retro stage shows, often coaxing their customers into the act. Many of those customers became friends, as they stayed to talk about art, fishing, politics and family.

"I'm a real good listener. I became the local psychiatrist as well," Meo joked.

After six years, with demand for her pieces rising, she closed Fish-n-Art to focus on showing and selling her work in off-island galleries in Fort Myers, Sanibel, Pine Island and Naples.

Year after year, she donated pieces to Arts for ACT, an annual auction benefiting Abuse Counseling and Treatment, a shelter for rape and domestic violence victims and their children.

In2002, she shared the stage with celebrity auctioneer Lily Tomlin. Two years later, Hurricane Charley blew the roof off her stilt house, but spared her gallery, so she kept creating.

Meo found a clientele hungry for her images, which she painted with an increasing sense of urgency as old fish houses became upscale marinas, groves sold to developers and roadside fruit stands shuttered.

"I just see eras going by really fast, and the island changing," she told The News-Press. "I'm just happy to paint things and have it in my memory and other people's memory before it's gone."

Now that she's gone, observed Fort Myers arts advocate Sunny Lubner, "Southwest Florida just became more monochromatic."

Mel Meois survived by her three children Nathan Long, Anna Long and Luke Long; and three siblings David Meo, Rita Meo Sgro and Monica Meo and two grandchildren.

Her memorial service, at which anyone who knew her is welcome, will be Saturday, May 14at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, 12175 Stringfellow Road, Bokeelia, time to be announced.

In leiu of flowers, please send donations to: Pine Island Playhouse,5861 Wisconsin St., Bokeelia, FL 33922 or the Pine Island Elementary Art Program, 5360 Ridgewood Drive, Bokeelia, FL 33922.

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Artist, advocate Mel Meo was a Pine Island treasure - News-Press