Summer | The Daily Norm

Aug 21

Ronda | Day Two: Ronda Joy for the Birthday Boy

Being a proponent of self-indulgence in all forms I am a great lover of birthdays. And being a great lover of birthdays I very often get disappointed when they are anything less than perfect. Which is most of the time – after all, when one is hoping for perfection you will almost certainly be on the look out for problems. But this year’s birthday, my 31st I am loathe to admit was, perhaps because it was so unplanned and unexpected (original plans to go to Cadiz being abandoned) utterly and in every way perfect. For how could it be otherwise, waking up in the glorious Spanish city of Ronda to some of the most spectacular views the country has to offer.

Those views, of golden fields, red rocky outcrops, white washed houses dazzled by the sun, and the vast imposing structure of the New Bridge, accompanied me throughout the early exciting stages of my birthday: admiring the views, taking a bath still admiring the views, unwrapping those few presents and cards I had brought with me from the UK, eating breakfast in the hotel restaurant still admiring the views, and finally getting my fill of those same stunning views as we strolled through the morning tranquility of the Almeda Park.

Opening up my birthday presents and walking out into Ronda’s delightfully sunny morning

All that set me up in perfect stead for the day to come, energy levels sky rocketing inspired by the beauty all around us. We headed straight over the vast gorge to the fairly new museum of another artist who had been inspired by these landscapes as well as the wealth of art historical references boasted by Spain: Ronda born Joaquin Peinado. His works, largely figurative moving into cubism, all wonderfully colourful and full of energising geometric forms, are contained in the beautifully converted Moctezuma Palace which is today owned by the Unicaja Ronda Foundation. The conversion makes for the perfect meditative surroundings where art is appreciated at its best: marble floors, clean white walls and incredibly detailed ancient mudejar ceilings. And just in case the building itself does not do it for you, the paintings on show are comprehensive and varied: Not only was a plentiful collection of the work of Peinado himself on show, but the museum was also hosting a temporary exhibit of Picasso’s Voillard Suite of around 100 prints. Those works, which are mainly crafted in etchings and lithographs and depict themes of the minotaur and the sculptor and model, demonstrate once again the versatility of Picasso and how prolific he was in the field of print.

Highlights from the Peinado Museum

If my birthday had ended there, stepping out after that wonderful art gallery experience, I would have been happy, but it was far from over. Next the compulsory coffee, enjoyed in the heart of the old town in the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, after which a quite random walk took us quite accidentally but fortuitously down around the outskirts of the old arab ramparts of Xijara and to the Islamic remains of the city. Chief among them are the almost fully intact Arab Baths, which today make for an atmospheric visitor’s attraction with sunlight flooding through the small star shaped holes in the stone ceiling, even though the water is today long gone. Then, just outside the baths, the incredible Old Bridge (so called) crossing the El Tajo gorge is likewise a supposed remnant to the old arab civilisation in the city. Today it makes for a stunningly impressive sight.

Arab Ronda

Positano & beyond | Capri: Part 2 – Geology, Geraniums and a Granita de Limon

There is no denying the unique pull of ritzy glitzy preened and perfected Capri Town, the bustling micro-sized centre of the stunning Neapolitan island of Capri. But beyond the Dolce and Gabbana, the YSL and the Chanel is an island whose real gleaming star is its jaw-droppingly beautiful natural scenery. Capri’s unique landscape is owed solely to its vast mountainous geology. Capri Town for example is a good 20 minute hike up steep stairways that climb one of the island’s two main mountainous peaks and which leave very little room at sea level for a capital town. And it’s because of this wonderful craggy mountain geology that the island is characterised by a series of stunning natural phenomena – the blue lagoon, the Arco Naturale, and the rocks that jut out to sea like characters from mythology.

No sooner had we finished our lunch in Capri Town, we bumped into this breathtaking beauty, for mere metres out of the town’s quickly dissipating urbanisation, you are led out into verdant bucolic lanes which simply take your breath away. Of course today much of these areas are overtaken with luxury hotels, but even those maintain huge lush gardens, and the result is an island bursting with almost tropical greenery and the vibrant pinks of abundant bourganvilla.

However to see flowers at their best and some of the most amazing views of the island, we headed to the Giardini di Augusto, a small shady set of manicured gardens once owned by German steel industrialist Friedrich Krupp, but begrudgingly given up when he was forced to leave the island in shame after his romantic liasons with local fishermen came to light! Today the gardens are given over to the pleasure of tourists and locals alike, and what pleasure they provide. But the most dazzling aspect of these gardens was not what could be found within, but seen from their periphery. Views so stunning of the turquoise waters and rocky outcrops jutting out to sea below that only photos can really tell of their true beauty…

In the garden…

and the views from within…

From one paradise to another, we headed over to the other side of Capri Town, embarking on a walk which at times seemed mad in the searing heat of day, but which was happily broken with a welcome lemon granita enjoyed over lavish sea views, and made all the more worth it by the final destination: the Arco Naturale. I’ve seen some views in my time but this was just something else. A huge rocky arch jutting out to see forming a window onto a little glittering bay below. This huge mass of limestone rock looked to be teetering on a knife edge – at its thinnest point, large cracks could already be seen and it became clear that this natural phenomenon cannot last forever. But this transience made the sight all the more beautiful and we sat and admired it for what seemed like hours.

The Arco Naturale and taking a rest beside the view

Of course there were so many other stunning views seen on our day in Capri, although we barely saw a quarter of the island on our short visit. All too soon the last boat back to Positano was calling, but surely a future visit to Capri will be required. After all, the best things in life are always worth the wait.

Capri fades off into the distance as we head back to Positano

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.

Jul 15

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My travel sketchbook: Capri 1– Roof of the Church of Santo Stefano

Being as the island of Capri is not exactly short of a tourist or two, and seeing as the prices which a café there can evidently get away with are sky high, you can understand why the cafés packed into the little Piazzetta at the centre of Capri Town are keen to do a quick turnaround of customers. After all, at nearly €10 a pop for a glass of wine or something similar, why would they not want to churn out the customers like a supermarket conveyer belt? So there must have been some extent of vexation for the waiters of one such café located directly beneath the square’s famous ceramic-faced campanile when I sat down at the café table and, after ordering myself a coffee, proceeded to open up my travel sketchbook and start sketching. Fearing no doubt that I would be there all day on the price of one coffee, I could almost feel their frustrated eyes burning into the back of my head as I began to sketch. And yet how could I do otherwise? After all, Capri is undoubtedly a place of beauty, and in the centre of its small capital city, the architecture is so cutely quaint that it feels a bit like Toytown. In particular, I adored the rooftop of the church of Santo Stefano, whose small little domes and white-washed walls captivated me from our first steps in the town. And it was those which I sat down to sketch at that little front line café table.

Capri Sketch 1: The church of Santo Stefano (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

Capri Sketch 1: Roof of the church of Santo Stefano (2014 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)

The waiters needn’t have been worried however. As ever with my impromptu sketches made in pen, I wasn’t working on this for long, and in fact had to leave said café before the sketch was completely finished owing to the fast approaching time of the last ferry back to Positano. And yet I’m glad I risked their wrath for the short time I did, because this is definitely one of my favourite sketches of the holiday.

© 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

Jul 14

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Positano & beyond | Capri: Part 1 – People, Prices, Paradise

It was of course long ago that I heard of the seductive allure of super-chic Capri, rocky Island paradise beloved of celebrities, royals and couturiers alike. The island, which is just off the Sorrento Peninsula in Italy, was first the beloved of Emperor Tiberius himself, who spent much of his reign luxuriating on the island, and since it has been home to some of the worlds most famous creatives, from John Singer Sargent to DH Lawrence. Of course alongside its innate popularity is also a reputation laced with tales of pompous overpriced fashion boutiques, snobby restaurants and not for the feint hearted lavishly expensive hotels. This reputation both repelled and entranced me, and while I was always procrastinating over whether or not to go, my decision was made up when I watched the delightful 1960s film, It Started in Naples. Starting Sophia Loren and Clark Gable, the film is a tribute to the stunning beauty of its island backdrop, as Capri is made just as much of a star of the film as Loren and Gable themselves. Although itself alluding to Capri’s over popularity amongst tourists, and the capitulation of the island to its predominantly American visitors (the satirical song Tu vuò fa l’americano is performed by Loren in the film), this 60s masterpiece made multiple promises of Capri’s geographical and social allure, and I knew I had to go there.

So keeping Positano on the Amalfi coast as our base (this avoiding at least the expense of Capri hotels) we set off on the morning high speed jet to the island and in under 45 minutes found ourselves approaching a jagged mountainous island so geographically surprising that it looked like an upturned knife searing out of the sea. There in the old harbour were the eye wateringly large luxury yachts (even our jet had cost is a cool €70 for the journey) although happily the scattering of colourful old fishing boats meant this port retained much of its Italian charm.

But the real charm was reserved for Capri town, a 20 minute hot uphill walk (or a more leisurely funicular ride for those who can be bothered to brave the long queue of tourists, and the price). Everything up in the town was like a pristine city in miniature. A half sized campanile with a charming yellow and blue ceramic face, little twisting streets containing small boutiques of the worlds most recognisable names: Gucci, D&G, Valentino, Prada, Versace, and at the centre of it all, a bustling central square, not even an 8th of the size of Madrid’s Plaza Mayor or London’s Leicester Square, but bustling and crammed with 4 or 5 cafes spread out over the whole area. Of course we headed straight to one such cafe – second Capri price shock: €17 for two glasses of house wine. Gulp.

There, sat in the Piazzetta (as it’s known), in the shadow of the white-washed Santo Stefano, one could really feel the essence of Capri. The square evoked the glamour that makes Capri so unique, fizzing with gossip and preening glitterati; waiters with their noses slightly upturned, regulars sat at the best cafe tables, their carefully coiffed dogs curled up beneath them, shiny boutique-bought handbags reflecting the sunlight, and the ice of morning cocktails glinting in the sun. Yes this was surely the reputed Capri – the very pinnacle of Paris couture in the tiniest cluster of toy-sized civilisation.

Feeling all the merrier for the wine, ignoring its hefty price, we wandered onwards, out of the square and into the town’s little streets which became ever more quaint and charming as one led to another. Our only attempt at shopping was thwarted by the sight of the price tag of a rather ordinary looking pair of sunglasses: a snitch at €1500. Happily, a sumptuous sun-dappled lunch in the cool gardens of the Hotel La Palma was easier on the wallet and even more so on the stomach. This left us well nourished (if a little tipsy) to explore the rest of Capri. Oh and what wonders were to come.

Positano & beyond | Photos Part 3 – Giornate in Spiaggia

Ah beach days. Those heady days of sunshine bliss, when you can lie out in the sun, meditating upon the swish of the waves curling in upon the sandy shore; when lying back enjoying the sun makes relaxation feel purposeful (after all, you are getting your intake of vitamin D, with all of the protections of sun lotion, naturally); when a refreshing dip in the sea affords all of the thirst-quenching satisfaction of an icy drink on a hot summer’s day; and when, at the day’s end, your skin feels sweetly sun kissed and your whole body groans in the pleasure of having embraced the good life. I’ve always been a beach lover, my partner even more so, and in Positano on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, we were afforded the opportunity to enjoy beach life with an indisputable bonus: a view which has to be one of the most stunning I have ever experienced from a sun bed.

From Positano’s surprisingly long stretch of beach, your lounger gives you a view not only on the crystal clear Mediterranean sea, with the swish yachts moored a little further out and the small ferries gliding in and out from the island of Capri and the town of Amalfi further down the coast, but it also gives you an unbroken panorama of the splendidly clustered town of Positano, its little pastel houses gathered together on the steeply plunging mountain sides. There was therefore no greater pleasure than simply lying out on a lounger gazing at this view – on one particular occasion I don’t think I was able to close my eyes once for fear that I would somehow betray the beauty of this landscape. And when taking a dip in the sea, and therefore straying a little further out, the views just got better and better.

This set of photos was taken either from the beach, or of the beach, both viewpoints providing wonderful vantages from which to catch a beach and a town full of abundant colour in the Mediterranean sunshine. On one particular occasion, we managed to bag two sunbeds set out on their own on a jutting rock, giving us unrivalled views of the town and the beach below – no wonder we had to toast the occasion with a glass of chilled white wine. This was a beach experience which is unlikely to be beaten.

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.

Jul 4

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Wonderful Wimbledon: strawberries, cream and a place to be seen

I interrupt this ambrosial Amalfi story to sneak a peak at the sweet verdant lands and the rolling hills of summertime England, where far away from the sun-baked mountains of the mediterranean, different peaks are being climbed – peaks of physical fitness and sporting prowess when the world’s best tennis stars come together for the ultimate in tennis championships, the creme de la creme of all tournaments: Wimbledon.

Wednesday may have been a grey day for British tennis, when national hopeful Andy Murray was chased out of the championships in a depressing straight-set defeat, but above the perfectly manicured lawns of centre-court where I was lucky enough to be a spectator all day, the skies shone a vivid blue, and all around the many courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the glamourous and chic of high society perambulated in their finery, clutching glasses of lansen champagne in one hand and a tub of the traditional Wimbledon accompaniment of strawberries and cream in the other.

For even those few who do not get caught up in the all-encompassing excitement of riveting rallies and tense tie-breakers, Wimbledon is an unmissable event of the season. With a ground filled with perfectly manicured floral blooms in the championship colours of green and purple, when styled summer frocks and panama hats get an airing, and some of the world’s best players and celebrity spectators gather together, Wimbledon is surely the high point of the British summer, when the tennis loving crowds include even the royals themselves – why yesterday the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (otherwise known as Wills and Kate) were in attendance.

Naturally, while I rode the emotional wave of highs and lows that came with watching Murray’s defeat and Federer’s later quarter final victory, I also felt happily immersed in the high-flying excitement of the entire Wimbledon experience, and these photos are testament to the day we had. As with the good english weather, these two weeks of Wimbledon are a transient experience – so like me, I hope you will enjoy the brief interlude of Wonderful Wimbledon while you can.

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. 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

Jul 2

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Positano & beyond | Photos Part 2 – Down into the town

On Monday I shared a collection of photos showing the dazzling views of the seashore and the vast mountains of the Amalfi Coast which greeted us from a hotel balcony every time we awoke and entered our bedroom at the Palazzo Talamo Hotel in Positano, Italy. And this was just for starters. Up in the hotel, on the meandering upper road which snakes its way across the mountain sides and over the town, we were approximately 300 steep steps (or a longer sloped descent) away from the bustling centre of Positano, and if we thought the views from up there had stolen the show in the beauty stakes, Positano’s beachside centre was about to show how it too could take centre stage.

One writer (who shall remain unnamed) in my Rough Guides travel guide to the Amalfi Coast maintained that Positano was unfavourably given over to tourism and lacked authenticity. That writer has either never been to this picture-perfect gem of the Italian coast, or is just plain foolish. Of course, Positano has its fair share of souvenir shops given over to sales of limoncello and beautifully hand crafted pottery, but what shop on the Amalfi Coast doesn’t, when the beauty of its landscape is so obviously going to pull in and ravish tourist hoards in their turn? But in Positano, those same shops are nestled together in a cluster of pastel coloured houses which almost glow by contrast with the dark mountains looming behind them, and which, at ground level, are so small and quaint, situated in tiny little lanes covered from the sun with vibrant pink bougainvillea, that at every turn there is another photograph begging to be taken.

So this post of photos moves from our hotel’s coastal panoramas to the finer details of the town centre itself. From groups of children dancing, to locals chatting over a stall selling granita de limon, and from the brightly coloured tiled dome of the duomo to the vivid stripes of the umbrellas lined up along the wide pebbly beach: these photos show a town which is bursting with the spirit of Italia, and is certainly far from the inauthenticity which Rough Guides has alleged. Picture-perfect houses and a landscape to die for; a beach side paseo bustling with locals and tourists; little shopping streets with their wares almost falling out onto the street like in nearby Naples, and a central core with a grand church at its centre – Positano for me is the very epitome of the Italian dream – an almost fiction-like paradise whose reality is ever questionable – close your eyes before it and you may realise you were simply dreaming.

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 30

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Positano & beyond | Photos Part 1 – A room with a view

There are few places on the earth that are naturally synonymous with paradise. Even the most beautifully secluded spots have not escaped some degree of commercialisation or urbanisation which detracts from the feeling of finding a paradise on earth. And yet Italy’s Amalfi coast, nestled in between the cities of Naples and Salerno and on the Southern most stretch of the Sorrento peninsula, is one place which is intrinsically described as, and discovered to be, a paradise on earth.

True, the coast has not escaped the touch of humankind, not least because much of the coast is now specifically given over to tourism. But what human development exists is inevitably curbed by the rugged and hostile landscape of steep mountain passages and severe plunging cliffs. It is also precisely that very development – the clustering of white washed and pastel houses against steep mountain passages – that makes the Amalfi Coast so visually stunning. And that beautiful relationship between man and nature is never seen with such perfection as in the little town of Positano, clustered along a fold of one of the coast’s most impressive mountainous passages. And it was to Positano that I have just ventured in my most recent European travels, making this stunner of a town our base for a week’s discovery of the Amalfi Coast and the islands beyond.

There are so many ways in which I can express the beauty of Positano, and as my tales of this Amalfi Adventure roll out on The Daily Norm, you are probably likely to see and read most of them. But as a starting point, I don’t think anything says Positano, and our experience of it better than by sharing the incredible view we enjoyed of the town from our balcony at the Palazzo Talamo Hotel. When we opened the balcony doors and saw what view was to be exclusively ours for a week, I almost fell off the balcony with the joy of the moment. An unrivalled 180 degree view took in not just the pastel and white cluster of Positano, but its beaches, its vast mountain ranges, and the toing and froing of fishing and tourist boats from its harbour.

As the days unravelled, we sat on that balcony morning and night, drank chilled prosecco as the sun set in the evening, took photos as the sun rose again over the Eastern most reach of the mountains gradually lighting up the town, watched the city become a twinkling sea of stars as darkness descended and the uninhabited stretches of the mountains disappeared from view, and painted and sketched the many glorious sights which could be seen before our very eyes. We never even shut the curtains at night – who could close off that view from sight?

And while perhaps a camera can never truly capture the awesome feeling one has when faced with the scale of an incredibly far reaching view, it surely helps to create the mood and the magic which was manifested by every moment’s interaction with this most fantastic of panoramas. And this was before we even got down into the heart of Positano! But more of that another time. For now I would like to share with you: Our room with a view.

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 25

The Daily Norm Photo of the Week: St Blaise in the Sunshine

For all its different shapes and colours, and the play of sunshine and shadow, this photo, taken a few days ago on my sunny London balcony just had to make The Daily Norm Photo of the Week. It features a little statuette of St Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, purchased in the same glorious Croatian city from the bustling morning market they have there in the shadow of St Blaise’s church. Now transferred to England, this delicately glazed dark marbled icon looks happy enough on our balcony, particularly when the sun is shining causing his curly metal staff to form a stunning snail-like shadow.

But asides from the saint at its centre, glossy from the reflection of plants nearby, I love this photo for the vibrancy of the green plants and the stunningly red geraniums, offset into a blurred defocus in the picture’s immediate foreground. It is the very image of a warm summer’s day, complete with all the golden comfort of dappled sunlight which makes a green and leafy summer such a beautiful season to behold.

Let’s hope this summer will bring many a day like this one over the next few months.

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 16

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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.