Croatia | The Daily Norm

Jun 16

Dubrovnik | Day 4 – By land, by sea, by sky

On our fourth and final day in the stunning Croatian city of Dubrovnik, we had the opportunity to appreciate the city afresh not just by land, but by sea and twice by air. Of course the second incident of airborne appreciation was also tinged with sadness, as it was accompanied by the whir of a Monarch airplane which was wishing us through the air towards the UK. But hours before that tragic departure from the city commenced, our first airborne encounter can only be described as an experience of utmost exhilaration, as we took to the city’s cable car up to the steep hills behind the city to enjoy an unrivaled view.

Seen from the cable car, and from the various viewing platforms at the top of the hill, Dubrovnik unveils the secret behind its beauty and its longevity. Perfectly encased in solid walls, and situated on rocky crags sticking out like and island in the Adriatic sea, it appears almost impenetrable – hence why history has so perfectly preserved its ancient streets and buildings – rich pickings for every visitor to enjoy. The views were just amazing. Beyond a sea of terracotta rooftops was an actual sea of every shade of blue and turquoise, and beyond that the almost hairy verdant island of Lokrum, and a scattering of other small islands as the Dalmatian coast stretched out into the distance.

But it wasn’t just the views of the city that enthralled. Up on this hill behind Dubrovnik, beautiful mountaenous pastures were scattered with wild flowers and random rock forms for as far as the eye could sea, and cutting across the fresh mountain air, the quiet tranquil bong of bells hung around the necks of nearby cattle. Blissful. Sadly the onset of a passing rain shower had us running back for the cover of the descending cable car, and soon enough we were back in the little city centre, which had by this time become so much like home.

Of course the clock was ticking and our homeward bound flight was not far away. So we decided to while away the last view hours of our trip not by moping around full of the inevitable depression which follows the end of a sensational holiday, but by appreciating Dubrovnik from yet another new angle – this time from the sea.

Dubrovnik’s old port is full of little boats taking tourists out for trips around the nearby coastline, for no trip to Dubrovnik can be complete without appreciating the sheer scale and magnificence of its walls and its geographical position from the sea. For only around £7 each, we not only got a boat trip, but also the boat and a very friendly informative driver to ourselves. He took us along the great walls, explaining the ravaged history of the city including the many attempted (and ultimately successful) invasions of various foreign conquerors, right up to the shocking bombardment of the conflict in the early 1990s.

Then across the sea, we steered around the island of Lokrum which sits bang opposite Dubrovnik, and sailing behind the island discovered how rich an island of geological formations and unchartered natural beauty it is – there amongst sharply cut rocks were huge spooky caves and multi-dimensional forms – it was like a mystical land out of a fairytale. There were also a few nudist bathers thrown in for free – they might almost have been mythological, were it not for the trendy sunglasses placed upon their otherwise quite unaccessorised skin.

And so it was that, steering back into Dubrovnik’s old port, we felt fully satisfied that we had given this city our best, exploring its streets and slopes and squares and monuments on land, admiring its beauty from the height of its walls and the steep hill behind it, and appreciating its scale and magnificence from out of sea. Our final view of the city may have been from that London-bound plane, but we felt pretty sure that it would not be our last.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jun 12

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Dubrovnik | Photography Focus: Part Four – People Watching

I do enjoy a good spot of people watching – who doesn’t? And Dubrovnik, with its hoards of cafes set within picture-perfect squares and bustling marble-lined streets is the perfect place to indulge in a little people observation. What surprised me about Dubrovnik, a city famed for its tourist hoards, was how the character and spirit of the locals shone through, despite the fact that so much of the city is given over to tourism. Every day out of the church of St Blaise, wedding parties dressed in traditional costume would pile onto the church steps, let of celebratory smoke guns and fireworks and pose for group photos en masse. In cafes the same old locals who probably hang out around the same tables every day chatter calmly, oblivious or perhaps used to the fast pace of tourist visits going on all around them. In the local market, hardy street-sellers ply their trade to both locals and tourists alike, and in cafes, seasonal waitresses can occasionally be spotted daydreaming of another job, another ambition in their lives.

All this made for a great excuse for taking photographs, and many of the photos in this post were actually taken by my partner who loves capturing the true essence of a town and its people in the same way that I love doing the same with my sketches, paintings and my own photographic tributes. So due thanks must go to him for his input into this post which truly does sum up the atmosphere and warmth not just of Dubrovnik but of its very characterful, warm and welcoming people.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and Dominik Woloszyn © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jun 10

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Dubrovnik | Day 3 – A tale of two cities

It is a rare thing indeed to find a holiday destination with mixes both superbly intact historical treasures with a good old golden beach. One can only dream of taking a dip in the sea when sweating profusely around the dry old ruins of Rome’s forum; and in Paris, a manmade beach clinging to the side of the moderately filthy River Seine in the summer months is about as good as it’s going to get. But in Dubrovnik, Croatia’s diamond of the Dalmatian Coast, you truly get the best of both worlds. Not only is the city a treasure trove of historical beauty encased in a perfectly unbroken ring of ramparts, but immediately outside of those stone walls are long beaches and crystal clear cerulean blue seas. And what’s more, Dubrovnik has to be one of the only beaches in the world where you can lounge out in the sun and swim lazily in the shallow waters while being afforded a stunning view of one of Europe’s most unique medieval cities.

Charismatic old streets in the South of the city

Day 3 of our trip made for a perfect demonstration of this fortuitous combination. In the morning we undertook yet further explorations of some of the narrower “back” streets climbing up to the seaward extent of the walls, where streets form successively more beautiful labyrinths of plant pots and strung out laundry, and the steps get steeper and steeper as you advance towards the sea. This then led us to the city’s Domenican Monastery, a place which is not only the epitome of tranquillity with a stunning cloister whose stony silence is interrupted only be the gently dappling of the sun, but whose museum claims to hold the heart of St Luke the Evangelist himself, as well as a good few other body parts of the great faithful.

The Domenican Monastery

In the afternoon, by contrast, we made our way down the winding streets which lead Eastwards out of the city, beyond the protection afforded by the mighty walls, and onto the nearest stretch of beach to the city – a wonderfully golden expanse fringed by warm shallow waters and of course benefitting from that incredible backdrop of the city. As this was, ostensibly, a city trip and we knew that this beach day was likely to be a unique endeavour, we splashed out on hiring two comfy loungers and eating our way slowly through the menu of the beach restaurant ably servicing the many beach goers. And in that mode we enjoyed this second face of the city, plunging regularly into its incredibly warm and clear waters, gazing in wonder at the views of the city rippled in the almost still Adriatic waters.

The beach of Dubrovnik

As evening descended , it seemed only appropriate that our evening dinner should combine both facets of sea and city – and dining out on the visually spectacular terrace of the restaurant 360, positioned up on one wing of Dubrovnik’s old walls, we were afforded a view not just back to the old city, but also over its port where small fishing boats barely moved in the still air of this warm evening. The food was apt accompaniment to this eye-watering view: my crispy sea bass with spiced cous cous and a basil puree deserves particular mention, although star of the show was a bottle of Croatian red – Lasina (2011) – one of only 600 bottles ever made, and so deliciously complex and richly velvet that I wished they had made a thousand more. But then that’s Dubrovnik all over: a place of rare treasures unrepeated elsewhere in the world, and all the more enjoyable for it.

360 Restaurant and Dubrovnik at night

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jun 9

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Dubrovnik | Photography Focus: Part Three – Ripples of the Southern Adriatic

Readers of The Daily Norm cannot fail to realise that I love ripples and reflections in water. I became obsessed with them, rather appropriately, in Venice over Christmas, where the image of the city reflected into water is almost as beautiful as the city above water. I was likewise enamoured by the sun-drenched ripples of the Mediterranean caught in a moment of watery transience in the old port of Dell’Ovo in Naples. This Italian double whammy inspired a couple of gouache ripple paintings, one of which I sold at my recent solo art exhibition in London’s Strand Gallery. I also made two woodcut prints inspired by the ripples of both Venice, and Naples. Then, when I was in Spain in April, I went ripple hunting again, finding that the Spanish Mediterranean in the ports of Marbella was in no shortage of stunning watery wonders.

So it will be of no surprise that on my recent trip to Dubrovnik, I went in search of some more abstract images framed in an instance of moving water, finding stunning examples of reflection not only in the city’s old port amongst the fishing boats and tourist vessels, but also in the crystal clear cerulean blue sea, and even in the elegant old fountains at the heart of the city.

The resulting photos are a treasure trove of colourful ripples with characteristic sights of the city mixed in. I love my photo of the waters in the old port for instance, where the golden walls of the city are perfectly reflected alongside the blue of the water forming an image in reflection which is so abstract that it could be mistaken for something by Rothko. I also love those photos of ripples around the ancient rocks which surround the fortress city, filled with the magical atmosphere which these natural forms create.

It seems almost appropriate that this further chapter in my portfolio of ripples should fall in the southern part of the Adriatic, the sea where my obsession with water first took hold, up in the colder Northern waters around Venice. I hope you like them.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jun 6

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My Dubrovnik Sketchbook (Part 2) – Created from a Café

Almost as exciting as the prospect of filling my new sketchbook with views of Dubrovnik has been the process of lifting my sketches out of my sketchbook and onto The Daily Norm and the wonderful reception they have received from all of my kind blog readers. My last sketch post was so well received that I have been doubly inspired to fill the eager remaining pages of my sketchbook with further views from my forthcoming summer travels. But before I start my work on them, I still have a few more Dubrovnik-inspired sketches to share.

Next up are two of my favourite sketches from the bunch; favourites not just because of the views they share but because of the memories they hold. For these sketches were made during my favourite time of the day – when after a day’s hard sightseeing, we would settle down into one of the city’s perfectly scenic cafes and I would open up my sketchbook and record the always sensational views just ahead of us.

View of Dubrovnik Cathedral from the terrace of the Gradska Kavana Café (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

The first of these views was drawn from the rather swanky terrace of one of the city’s most popular cafes: the Gradska Kavana Café. Situated right opposite the church of Dubrovnik’s patron saint, Saint Blaize, and just along the shiny marble road from the city’s main cathedral, this terrace offered perfect views ripe for capturing in my sketchbook, and as soon as my coffee was served, I set about sketching one such view before us, looking down the Pred Dvorom onto the grand domed cathedral.In the bottom left hand corner you can see a corner of the cafe terrace and its mighty awning offering shade to all the elegant customers. It reminds me of Van Gogh’s famous cafe terrace featured in one of his most famous views of Arles.

The Amerling Fountain on the Gunduliceva Square, Dubrovnik (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

The second sketch features the beautiful Amerling Fountain, which is to be found on the corner of the bustling market square of the Gunduliceva Poljana. I set about drawing this sketch as we finished a delicious portion of fired squid and whitebait, accompanied by another creamy coffee as I drew this, our favourite of the city’s several beautiful fountains.

And just in case you should doubt the beauty of the surroundings which inspired me as I sketched these two beautiful views, here are some photos of me taken by my partner as I went about capturing the city in my sketchbook.

More to come… next time!

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

Jun 4

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Dubrovnik | Day 2 – Paradise set in a ring of stone

Day two of our trip to Dubrovnik had to be about the great walls. Encircling the city in an unbroken ring of metres-thick stone, the walls not only offer the best possible vantage of the city from multiple angles, but also enable a complete appreciation of the scale and extent of the city. While on the one hand the city feels very small and self-contained, when you are walking around these huge walls, feeling rather like an ant by comparison to their mighty size, you start to realise that the city is really quite large, and packed full of treasures and unique panoramas on an almost incomparable scale.

And as if by way of example of the wealth of the city’s offerings, our first ambling of the day, walking through the land-bound streets of the North of the city (in an attempt to discover the entrance to the walls…) demonstrated that every street in Dubrovnik, no matter how small nor narrow, is a thing of beauty. This steep region of the city, which used to be separate from the main island city of Dubrovnik before the Stradun, which is now a main street but used to be a river, was filled in, constantly wowed us with picturesque sights around every corner – washing strung between houses, little wooden chairs placed outside front doors ripe for neighbourly gossip, street lamps poking out from every house in an overlapping cluster of glass and metal, and of course a backdrop to die for of further escalating roofs and the steep hillside beyond.

The picturesque backstreets

We didn’t find an entrance to the walls in those backstreets however. At every turn we could see the walls, and see an increasing number of tourists walking upon them. Nonetheless the entrance alluded us (it turns out that access to the walls, which is charged at around £10 each, is tightly controlled) and we headed back down to the city centre in search of coffee, before finally heading to the Pile gate, where we already knew that the main entrance to the walls is located.

The walls of Dubrovnik are so impressive, extensive and magnificently steeped in history that they ought to form the basis of a song. Or perhaps they already do (or perhaps I should write one). I can well imagine how the lyrics would poetically describe how the undulating extent of these mighty ramparts plunge robustly into the sea on the one hand, and sensitively encircle the city’s old port on the other. Or how to the north they take you up to the back of the city, affording the most sensational view across Dubrovnik’s sea of rooftops, and how to the south, they offer sweeping panoramas of the Adriatic sea on the one side, and quaint little citrus-filled gardens on the other. Of course photos probably do just as well to describe the brilliance of Dubrovnik’s major attraction, and I shall leave you to look at my pics, while remembering fondly the drink we enjoyed upon one rampart terrace, with a commanding view over the city’s cathedral and the island of Lokrum beyond.

Compelling views from Dubrovnik’s Walls

Of course the walls were all rather tiring. What felt like a small city from within suddenly magnified once you were required to walk around the whole place in a single morning, and come the afternoon, a restful lunch under a port-side pine tree, followed by a series of leisurely coffees taken in the city’s various squares was just the ticket to refuel after our morning’s exertions. We also found a little secret passage across slimy sea-weed covered rocks extending from the harbour into the old city, ending up rather awkwardly in the kitchen of a restaurant (a breach in Dubrovnik’s walls!).

Lunch with a view and a passage way through the sea

We also discovered that the best time to enjoy the city is surely of an early evening, when the tourist masses and the groups from docking cruise liners have departed, leaving the locals and those tourists lucky enough to be staying in or around the city to enjoy the place in relative tranquillity. And there was no better way to do that than with a drink on the Stradun with jazz playing from nearby cafes and house martins swooping in the air. Nor with dinner under the city’s starry sky, eaten al fresco in front of the Romanesque façade of the Jesuit church to the accompaniment of a Spanish guitarist.

Clearly it was not just their freedom that the residents of this city wanted to preserve by building such magnificent walls around them, but also the secret held within their embrace: paradise on earth.

The best time of the day…

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Jun 2

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Dubrovnik | Photography Focus: Part Two – Rooftop Rhapsody

There are many reasons why Dubrovnik, the stunning little self-contained city sitting on the emerald Dalmatian Coast, is famous. Probably the most notable of these are the city walls, which encase the city in an unbroken ring of stone. Second maybe is its position, built on sheer jagged rocks plunging straight into the Adriatic sea. But the combination of both those things – the enviable geographical position and the encasement of walls has resulted in what is undoubtedly the greatest attraction of the city: the sheer unbroken consistency and quality of the buildings and streets packed within Dubrovnik’s walls. For it is precisely because Dubrovnik was always so protected that it has remained so unspoilt by the modern world. And the results of this are no more obvious than when the city is seen from above as an unbroken sea of terracotta red.

Yes, Dubrovnik’s beauty can be seen from many angles, but chief among them is from above. Looking at the city from a high vantage point allows the viewer to gaze in wonder at a flowing continuous carpet of rooftops, like a carefully woven tapestry of earthy tones, broken only by the odd elegant bell tower or church dome. And when we stayed in the city last weekend, we were treated to a unique vantage point of this stunning rooftop view on a daily basis. Not only did our room, fortuitously located on the top floor of one of only two hotels in the city centre – the Stari Grad Boutique Hotel – afford us stunning views over the rooftops and the campanile of the Franciscan immediately next door, but one floor up, the hotel boasted a unique roof terrace – the only I saw in the whole of the city – which presented an unbroken 360 degree view of the city.

What a view by which to eat breakfast at the beginning of every day! And of course asides from that unique vantage point, the walls themselves give equally unparalleled panoramas over wave after wave of terracotta tiles, and my photos taken from both horizons are the feature of this second photography post of my Dubrovnik adventure. Whether they show the rooftops en masse in their juxtaposition of different angles and shades of terracotta and red, or the charismatic little features of individual households from washing lines to the odd pet cat, these photos are the perfect narrative of a city which is both consistent in its unrivaled beauty, and utterly unique from one house and rooftop to another. Enjoy!

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

May 30

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Norms in Dubrovnik | Fishernorm in the Brsalje Harbour

Amongst the mystical rocks and the shallow still waters of the Brsalje Harbour in Dubrovnik, Croatia, barely a soul is stirring. The crystal clear waters of the Adriatic lap so gently upon the small beach there that their placid rolling motion is more like a tender embrace licking clean the smooth white pebbles of the shore. Even at the deepest sections of the harbour, the fishes seem to be hypnotised into a mid-afternoon slumber, swimming gently in slow motion, quietly transfigured by the sparkling ripples created by the afternoon sun. On the many rocks, small crabs are similarly somnolent, happily ensconced by the waters edge, soaking up a few Mediterranean rays. And across the bay, a little boat lies in waiting, neither moving nor occupied, a reminder of the activity which at times fills these waters but which today has been abandoned in favour of siesta time.

Amongst this scene of blissful inactivity, the only movement is from the one occupant of the bay, although even he, this little fishernorm idly fishing by the water’s edge, is struggling to fight the waves of fatigue spilling over him. Yet occasionally, one of those otherwise contented fishes explores curiously the little worm hanging down from the fishernorm’s road, stirring the mirrored waters with the perfect circles of a ripple as its tail flicks this way and that, before abandoning this inevitable means of entrapment.

Fishernorm in the Brsalje Harbour, Dubrovnik (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen and ink on paper)

Yes, here is the first of my sketches showing how the Norms, too, have discovered the stunning city of Dubrovnik. While many tourist Norms will of course be bobbling along the extensive city walls, one must always remember that Norms like nothing more than a little inertia of a warm afternoon. And this little fishernorm’s idea of fishing in the beautiful Brsalje harbour looks like a fine one to me. Let’s just hope that in all that beautiful tranquillity all around him, he doesn’t nod off and roll into the water.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. For more information on the work of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, head to his art website at www.delacy-brown.com

May 29

Dubrovnik | Photography Focus: Part One – Lovrijenac Fort

There can be no doubt that the historically intact magnificent city of Dubrovnik oozes magic and magnificence from every corner and street, in its main grand piazzas and in the shadows of its imposing encircling walls, before its various churches and cathedrals, and from whichever viewpoint the city is admired. And yet for all the magic of mankind’s creation, it is the creation of nature, surrounding the city, which enchants me the most. Not only is Dubrovnik built upon an island cast from vast rocky forms which plunge out to see unabashed by the forces of the Adriatic, but besides the main city, a number of smaller rock forms create little bays and natural harbours which are loaded with a special unique mysticism which make them feel almost otherworldly.

Chief amongst these is the area of the Lovrijenac fortress. Set upon another vast rock and surrounded by a tranquil little bay (Brsalje Harbour) punctuated with its own collection of smaller little rock forms, Lobrijenac felt like a castle straight out of a fairytale. The rocks leading to it were crisscrossed with little steps, and the steep sided rock faces peppered with nature’s best display of yellow and purple wild flowers, mosses and cacti. Meanwhile in the waters below, the proliferation of rocks on the seabed meant that the water under Dubrovnik’s blue skies glowed a ravishing tone of turquoise, while the shape of the rocks themselves looked almost like wild mystical animals, refreshing themselves in the shallow waters.

Perhaps it was the combination of these magical natural forms and the fading afternoon light when we visited which made this place extra specially supernatural when we visited on our first day in Dubrovnik; it may also have been my artistic imagination which gave the place such significance. After all, only recently I completed my large scale painting, Autorretrato, which was set in a fantastical bay containing random rock forms just like these, an image which I had then carried through to two of my etchings. Whatever the reason though, I found this area just outside Dubrovnik’s walls to be completely stunning, hence why I’m giving it a whole post of its own in amongst my new season of posts from the city.

For all its tranquillity and light, its mystical rocky forms and sparkling sensuous watery ripples, the Brsalje Harbour is definitely one of my favourite of all places in Dubrovnik, but ultimately there are so many more which warranted my artistic and photographic attentions. So be sure to come back soon to The Daily Norm so see what else the Pearl of the Adriatic had to offer.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

May 28

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Dubrovnik | Day 1 – The Diamond of Dalmatia

Is it because of the delightful haphazard spotting of their black and white fur that the beautiful breed of Dalmatian dogs are given the same name as the Croatian coast of Dalmatia, whose geography comprises a confetti-like sprinkling of small islands of every shape and size? Or just a coincidence of their natural origins? Such were the thoughts running through my mind as our plane swept over and along the stunning Dalmatian coast on the southern most stretch of Croatia last weekend, as we began a short city trip to what must undoubtedly be one of the most deservedly popular attractions on the whole coast – the fortress city of Dubrovnik.

Encased within metre-thick massive stone walls and built upon foundations of solid rock, Dubrovnik truly is a gem set within a ring of solid stone, whose preservation has been accordingly restored, despite various historical threats over the centuries, including most recently devastating bombardment during the Yugoslavian conflict of the early 90s. Today it gleams like a true diamond for all the world’s tourists (and fans of Game of Thrones which is allegedly filmed there – I’ve never watched it) to enjoy. With its uniform collection of terracotta roofed houses, main roads gleaming with shiny marble pavements, narrow streets hung with washing climbing up the city’s steep sides, and the odd sprinkling of lavish renaissance style palaces, Dubrovnik is a visual stunner and a historical enclave – so different from its surrounding modern suburbs, and so consistent in being utterly unspoilt. And Dubrovnik is not just a living museum, but a living breathing spirited city whose location affords it a Mediterranean climate and all the advantages of a coastal resort set with eye-wateringly blue cerulean azure seas.

First glimpses of this most beautiful of cities

And it was to these stunning waters that we headed upon our timely early afternoon arrival in the city, walking down the shiny central street, the Stradun, from the most Western Pile gate of the city, across to its Eastern entrance which looks onto the uniquely charming old port. Filled with little fishing boats and friendly cats basking in the warm sunshine, the port has all of the delights of a Mediterranean harbour, including bustling cafes serving the very freshest seafood guaranteed to have come straight out of the warm crystal clear waters that very morning. One such serving of squid did not last long out of the water, being devoured by we hungry holiday makers along with several glasses of Croatian white wine and some fresh soft white bread.

Dubrovnik’s Old Port

Dubrovnik is a city filled with lazy sun-loving cats

It was to be the first treat of many on a day which gave us our first taster of this incredible city. What followed were walks around the old port and the huge rocks on which the city’s seaward walls are built; afternoon drinks in the bustling market square where the gentle trickle of the Amerling Fountain is soporific accompaniment once the busy morning market has closed down for the day; and a walk around the Lovrijenac Fort in the last sunlight of the afternoon, a fort set upon a huge rock just outside the city which, crisscrossed with ancient stairs and nature’s best offerings of wild flowers has something utterly magical about it, not to mention the smaller rocks which sit besides it, looking like animals stretching in the water.

All this proved, doubly, triply, again and again how uniquely beautiful the city of Dubrovnik is, a fact proven once again as moonlight fell over the city, the architectural details of its most beautiful monuments were picked out in flood light, the jazz bars started bustling with people, and we dined, once again looking over the Lovrijenac Fort, in the knowledge that we were dining in front of one of the most beautiful restaurant views in the world. And all this was after just a few hours in the city. You can imagine how many photos, art works, and rambling descriptions are now to follow in this, my new Dubrovnik season on The Daily Norm. Be sure to come back and savour much more, as I take you on a journey around the jewel of Dalmatia.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2014 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.