Leaving via Barcelona - Dali Museum in Figueres

From the Cote d'Azur we headed west along the coast via Cassis, the Camargue, and the Pyrenees, back to Barcelona for a flight back to Canada. We managed a stop in Figueres, Spain (the closest town to the French border just south of the Pyrenees) and a visit to the Dalí Theatre-Museum. Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was born and died in Figueres, and he designed his own museum which opened in 1974.

After passing through phases of Cubism, Futurism and Metaphysical painting, he joined the Surrealists in 1929 and his talent for self-publicity rapidly made him the most famous representative of the movement.

The Dalí Theatre-Museum has to be seen as a whole, as the great work of Dalí, for everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist in order to offer visitors a real experience of getting inside his captivating and unique world.

for more information about Dali, his life and his art, check this web site:

http://www.salvador-dali.org/en_index.html

In the garden, the sculpture "Rainy Taxi". As described in Rick Steves guide book: 'You know how you can never get a cab when it's raining? Pop a coin into Dalí's personal 1941 Cadillac, and it rains inside the car. Look above, atop the tire tower: That's the boat enjoyed by Dalí and his soulmate, Gala — his emotional life-preserver, who kept him from going overboard. When she died...so did he (for his last seven years). Below the boat drip blue tears made of condoms.'

The original painting is one of his most famous called "The Persistence of Memories" but also know as "Soft Watches" or "Melting Clocks." This is actually a woven tapestry above his bed.
Surrealistic, avant-garde - this museum can show you all the wild craziness that art can be.