Dallying with Dalí and an Afternoon in Girona

We awoke at 5:00 am to catch train to the town of Figueres (a two-hour ride by train), the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí.

Linda naps on the train.

Figueres' claim to fame is the second most-visited museum in Spain: the Dalí Theater-Museum.  The museum occupies the former Municipal Theatre, a 19th century building destroyed during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).  The museum's website touts the institution as "the largest surrealist object in the world."

 

Our guide book recommended arriving early to avoid the crowds, so we got there right when it opened.  The photo above (left) was taken as we were leaving - you can see part of the long line in the background.

The Art Girls were not impressed with this so-called museum.  The collection includes only a few examples of paintings from Dalí's most recognizable and celebrated period (late 1920s - early 1940s).  There were no text panels, no contextualization of Dalí or his work, the exhibition design was messy and confusing, and the whole place lacked connoisseurship.  Overall we came away disappointed and feeling like the whole trip was a waste of our time.  Samples of the ridiculousness are documented below.

Views of the interior courtyard and stage.  Sonja and Linda give their best "not impressed" faces.

Surrealism borders on silly in one of the stairwells. Dalí's wife, Gala, was his muse and appears in many of his paintings.

Birds, bread, a boat and a broad.  Don't ask what any of it means.

The "May West Room" is a strange tableau of sorts.  One can walk through the room but only upon ascending a staircase and peering through a distorted glass do the seemingly disparate elements come together to form a face.

A separate building (the red one with the eggs on top) housed an exhibition of jewelry designed by Dalí. We were not familiar with this part of Dalí's oeuvre and all of us found his designs beautiful, intricate and incredibly creative.  However, the whole presentation of these jewels was over the top.  The rooms were dark (the walls covered in dark fabric), and each piece of jewelry was spot-lit in its own vittrine.  The whole experience was overly and unnecessarily dramatic.

We stopped for lunch in Girona on the way back to Barcelona.  Girona is a charming town with a river running through the center.  After refueling with a delicious paella lunch at L'Alqueria, we embarked on a quick walking tour of the city.

One of Girona's main attractions is its Archaeological Walk: visitors can climb and stroll along remnants of the stone walls which fortified the city for centuries.

Note the cathedral and rapidly-approaching storm clouds in the background.

The ancient walls offer breathtaking views of the city and surrounding countryside.

The thundershowers hit just as we reached the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona, so we took shelter inside.  By the time we came out, it was sunny again!

86 steps lead up to the entrance.

The nave, built in 1416, has the widest Gothic span in the Christian world (72 feet).

The "Creation Tapestry" dates to the 11th-12th century.  It is well-preserved with rich colors and great detail.

The cloisters

Two-thirds of the Art Girls are not early risers, and our trio was almost too exhausted to go out to dinner.  Almost.  We ventured out to Da Grecco, an Italian restaurant that came highly recommended.

Ham: no Barcelona meal is complete without it.

Pasta with clams - yummy!

I ordered the three-pasta sampler.  Either something was lost in translation or the chef was feeling especially generous because I got my three pastas and the table got at least three others to share.  Pasta just kept coming: gnocchi, spaghetti with lobster sauce, linguine with clams, mushroom ravioli, something with white truffle sauce, and a few more I can't remember!  We finally had to tell the waitress to stop.  It was the perfect surreal end to our crazy day.