Dali´s Castle and Arrival in Cadaques

We´ve left Barcelona, but a blog post will be put up at some point describing what we did. On Monday, we said goodbye to Barcelona and hello to the open road. We rented a car and headed NE out of Barcelona, stopping only to grab a really terrible lunch in a hole-in-the-wall cafe in some town that barely has a name. Despite the waiter/chef/cashier´s assurances to the contrary, I maintain that the strange transparent strips of matter on our side salads were some form of plastic.

Regardless, after lunch we arrived at Castell de Pubol, just outside of La Pera, Spain. Forming the southernmost point of Catalonia´s ¨Salvador Dali Triangle,¨ this castle complex was purchased by Dali in 1968 as a present for his wife, Gala. Husbands take note.

After undergoing extensive renovation and stabilization, as only Dali could, the castle served as Gala´s private residence until her death. Dali was only permitted to visit at her express invitation, which was probably a good idea due to her fondness for the strapping farm hands in the area. Surprise visits would have just cramped her style. Gala was entombed in the crypt below the castle, and Dali live there for a significant portion of the rest of his life.

Dali painted the ceiling so everytime Gala looked towards Heaven, she would think of him.

What better way to cover up two unsightly radiators than with a door painted to look like to radiators...

The pool´s fountain, complete with numerous busts of Wagner 

From La Pera, we headed to Cadaques on the Mediterranean Sea. Dubbed a ¨grandiose geological delirium¨ by Dali, who summered here as a child and spent much of his later life in a nearby town, this lovely whitewashed vacation town and rocky bay sit nestled in the very tail end of the Pyrenees. With pebble beaches, excellent sailing, and a history of high profile vacationers, including Walt Disney, Mick Jagger, Picasso, and the Duke of Windsor (which would make quite the dinner party), Cadaques is still popular among Europeans looking for a nice coastal holiday. It was here that Dali met Gala and convinced her to leave her husband and run off with him. Since she got a castle out of the deal, it was probably for the best.

 Cadaques, as viewed from the white-knuckle, heart-attack-inducing drive through the mountains

From here, we head West towards Figueres for the final stop stop on the Dali express, the Teatre-Museu Dali. Stay tuned.