Monsurrat & Cadaques

 We picked up a rental car in Barcelona with plans to head towards Cadaques for the evening, but not before a quick stop at the monastery in the mountains, Monsurrat. The drive took a little over the hour and required navigating many windy roads up the mountain. Looking down over the neighboring regions was indescribable. The pictures did not do this view justice. I could see all the way to snow topped mountains. On the other side of the mountain, Barcelona was visible in the distance.

As we walked towards the cathedral, we saw numerous sculptures, each one out-doing the next.  We first made our way into a courtyard area with an amazing façade with a clock and additional sculptures. The detail was incredible.  The thirteen apostles staggered were a sight to see. Balconies of the rooms on either side of the building completed either side.

Mass was just coming to an end as we entered the church.  The golden arches and alter made for the most remarkable cathedral we saw during our trip. A statue of the virgin Mary was the centerpiece at the top of the niche. We were able to go up and touch the statue but the line was extremely long and the wind was chilly so we opted out after about 15 minutes of waiting.

Next, we walked 30 or so minutes up the mountain to a cross that sat near the top. The best part about this location was the view of the monastery, but the views of the surrounding areas weren’t bad either. The outline of Barcelona’s Cathedrals atop a hill of in the horizon was beautiful. On our way back to the car, we stopped for a coffee and a snack, then made our way back down the hill past numerous vendors of cheese and honey.  

We then decided to make a quick stop southwest of Barcelona in Penedès, the city known for its sparkling wine. We had a bit of trouble finding the actual location of the tasting room at Cavas Freixenet,  as it was in a different building. But once we got there we were not disappointed. Our waitress was so friendly and full of knowledge. She even brought out the ingredients for the tomoto bread that we had been eating all week, told us about its history and demonstrated how to prepare it. She explained how to tell what the age of the cava was based on the size of the bubbles inside and gave us several complementary samples.  She really made the experience for us.

Cadaques is a little over a two hours drive from Barcelona. It is absolutely worth renting a rental car and taking a day trip or even staying for a night or two. The views are absolutely breath taking. Cadaques is also the home of the artist Salvador Dali's home.

We arrived at Hotel Port Lligat around 8pm. I happened to be the last evening that the hotel would be having guest before closing for there year. The entire decor, from the moment that we walked in the door, was 100% Salvador Dali. His photos, books, decor similar to that of his own home all over. It was almost a bit overdone in my opinion but then again, I am not as hardcore a Dali fan as others that i was traveling with. They seemed very impressed by the decor. We were able to obtain a suite at a decent price for the three of us to stay in. We had dinner at a restaurant on the water. They served the best paella i have ever had and were extremely friendly. Breakfast in the morning at the hotel was also excellent.

Before we headed to Dali's home, we walked along the coast and took in the magnificent scenery. It reminded me very much of Greece.

We then checked out of the hotel and started our journey through the city to Salvador Dali's home.

Salvador Dali's House

Dali’s home was located on the shoreline. We entered through the living room, greeted by a stuffed polar bear in jewelry, and preceded through the kitchen, library, studio, bedroom and living areas.  To accompany the stuffed polar bear, we also found stuffed swans, birds, lions and various other animals (including a Rhino head with wings). Each area of the house was equipped with a string type barrier that would sound an alarm if you go past it. I must have set it off at least five times before I got out of there. The guide pretended to be keeping count of the number of times, but it was all in good fun. I appreciated his understanding of my inability to follow directions.

Once the guided tour was over, we were able to explore the grounds of the property.  This consumed more time than the guided tour. The pool was very oddly shaped and had multiple Michelin men incorporated into the design. There was also a couch in the shape of lips in the pools sitting area and large fake snakes hanging overhead. Everything inside and outside was over the top, out of this world. I was impressed with the number of eggs that Dali was able to incorporate into the houses design. I was even able to hang out inside of one.

The view from the top of the gardens was unforgettable. We watched video clips from his life in a small building at the top as well. Unfortunately for us, they were not in English… but we watched never the less. The funniest part was Dali taking a tea set and lowering it off a balcony into a barrel of tar. As he pulled the dripping blackened set back towards him, we were able to make out him sarcastically saying that now it was worth AT LEAST 5,000 euros.

Once we were finished with the tour of the house, we drove to Figueroa where the Dali Museum, and Dali’s tomb, is located.  The snow capped Pyrenees Mountains hung on the horizon in front of us the entire drive. How beautiful!

The city of Figueroa however, was not very nice, and we wondered why Dali had chosen this as the location for his museum.  The outside of the building had even more eggs on it than his actual home did.  In the courtyard were sculptures in the shape of lamps that were also in his home. It was cool to be able to make that connection, as I’m not sure it would have been apparent if you hadn’t visited his home before. There were very few original Dali works. The 4 or 5 authentic pieces were the same works that we saw prints of hanging in his home. It was special to see where they hung in his home, and then have the opportunity to see those actual prints in the museum. The majority of the museum included works from other artists that were said to have known Dali.  My absolute favorite part of the museum was the colorful, bright mural Dali painted on the ceiling of one room.

Though the museum was not really worth the trip, we did have the opportunity to go into an adjacent museum with pieces of jewelry that Dali designed. Many of them had elements that moved. They were very extravagant. We had no idea that Dali had done anything with jewelry so this ended up being a great surprise. My personal favorite piece was a gem with tiny hands as the prongs.