The weirdness of Dali

One cannot visit Dali’s Theatre/Museum in Figueres without asking – What was he taking?

Figueres is our last stop before we arrive in Girona and say goodbye to our little car (it really was pretty gutless, but no accidents, and got us around quite conveniently). The only reason to visit Figueres is to view the Dali Theatre, and on a very wet Saturday morning, the place was busy. We had to actually queue for the first time in ages, maybe even for the first time on our trip.

But this didn’t matter because it quite suited the madness that was Dali. The Museum is very extensive, and one would really need several visits to try to appreciate the breadth of his vision. In fact, I commented to M that it was necessary to leave any sense of reality at the door and just enjoy the theatricality of his work. He painted, sculpted, drew, designed jewellery, and prepared installations, before this was even an arty term.

One thing that I did appreciate was his skill as an artist, and the amazing creativity that he brought to art – not that I really understood much of what I saw of course. The whole experience reminded me in its weirdness of the Oliver Sacks book, The man who mistook his wife for a hat (M says “Que???”)

The pictures tell the story:

And so, to Girona in the pouring rain. Fortunately, the rain had mostly stopped by the time we are car-free (that’s not care-free mind you, as we manage to get lost in the city as we attempt to find our accommodation). Girona is a lovely town, but I can attest to the fact that some parts are not quite so scenic.

However, we did have a lovely walk along the river to the Cathedral, and then along part of the old walls, giving views of gardens and churches and rooftops.

It would be nice to say that we then retired for a restful night – but the couple next door arrived home about 4pm, the lady being very giggly and flirty and (French) for about 40 minutes, till they began to get a bit familiar. At which point, M made a disgusted noise, and I thumped on the wall. Coitus interuptus and silence, golden silence …