236. Costa Brava

Where: Cadaques & Figueres, Spain
When:  May 14 - 16, 2013
With: Suzannah

Along the northern part of the east coast of Spain lies a lovely coastal region called Costa Brava. One of the last points in Spain before you hit the beaches of France (think Nice), its location gives a little indication of the vibe of the area: relaxed, beachy and Spanish. 

While this area draws tourists craving sun and sea, another attraction tends to take the spotlight, and that is the life and artwork of Salvador Dalí. Born and raised in this area, the artist built his home here and created his own museum to house his works. But more on that later. 

The two main cities that are noted in this area are Cadaques and Figueres. I'll just split this out and talk about each.

Cadaques

Cadaques is the quintessential European beach town. With white washed buildings, a population of nothing in the off-months, and a chill vibe throughout, you can tell why people enjoy coming here.

Surrounding a natural harbour, it's clear why the village got its start in fishing. With the mountain range set behind it, this makes for a beautiful setting. 

While tourism has become the bigger industry these days, the fisherman culture still remains prevalent.

However, as I said before, now tourism is the main industry. Small streets and alleyways wind throughout the city, filled with boutique shops, galleries and restaurants. It's easy to get lost among them. On a day that was a bit too cold and cloudy for sunbathing, we spent the day exploring the endless maze.

The main road of the town follows along the water, so at the end of the day, it's hard to actually get lost (unless you are us, and trying to find either our 1. hotel at 11pm after getting in on the bus or 2. the bus station with all our luggage and 10 minutes until it leaves). Our hotel sat all the way at one end of the horseshoe of the bay, so our strolls into town followed along the sea wall.

 

At certain points, paths diverged and followed the rocky jetty along the coast. As you walk the trail, it feels like you're constantly about to hit a dead end, but as you keep going, the next twist or turn appears and you can continue on (except the one into the water).

As I mentioned earlier, Salavdor Dalí, has quite a few ties to this small town. As the town he was born in and eventually built his house in, his influence is prominent throughout, whether in commemorative statues or artwork.

I think my favorite display of Dalí's work were these plaques about the city that showed his paintings up against the scene in Cadaques that inspired it. Very cool to see. 

The house that he built is open for tourists, and with a pre-booking and a pre-allotted time slot, you can view it. It is a little ways out of town and bit of trek uphill along a stone pathway. 

Even in the distance, it's easy to tell when you've made it. Dalí's weird taste for art and design is obvious.

Actually located in a smaller subset of Cadaques called Portlligat, the house was built in 1930 and Dalí and his wife/muse Gala lived here until her death in 1982.

The house is small by standards of most tourist attractions, so only 10 people are allowed to enter at a time and you're only allowed 10 minutes in each room to keep the crowds moving along. The first area you enter is the main living space. While regular in the sense that it contains a foyer, kitchen, and living room, that is where the normalcy ends. The decor gives a small taste of the strange and imaginative mind of Dalí. 

To see his studio in a staged "as it was" way was pretty cool. As he got older, he would sit and paint in his big comfy armchair while surrounded by mannequins and random inspirations.

 A common subject of Dalí's work was Gala herself. And a common technique he used was this one, where he painted two canvases that were nearly exactly the same except in light tones, then inserted a mirror between the two to give you different perspectives depending on where you stood.

Continuing upstairs, you come to the bedroom. Yellow was a favorite color in a lot of the decor due to Gala's love of a particular flower whose name translates to mean "everlasting" as they never brown out and die. They gathered these flowers, dried them out and crafted them into decor and valances over many of their windows.

The beds themselves were positioned to get the optimal morning light and perfect view of the ocean. Now we're talkin.

The area that Dalí really seemed to let loose and have at it creatively was his backyard. Sculptures of eggs, random trash sculptures of Jesus, and several small outhouses made for  a wacky area of discovery, all with views out across the ocean. 

Where better to host guests than this patio area?

The most eclectic part was definitely the pool. I'm not even sure why, but there was a Michelin man, tires, and phone booths, all capped off at the end by bean bag chairs and stuffed lions.

To end a day of exploring Dalí's life and Cadaques, the bar Brown Sugar could not be beat (though it was the only place open past 10pm, so maybe summertime brings more options).  Tucked away in the corner of an alleyway, it had such a great vibe. Decorations of musical instruments, friendly bartenders, and an artsy local scene all made for the perfect way to end a night. Add in some live music, and we were all set.

 

Figueres

The town of Figueres is located about halfway between Barcelona and Cadaques, making it a regular stop for people on the Dalí trail. Its main attraction is the museum that Dalí designed himself to display his works, the Theatre-Museum Dalí, making his house seem normal by comparison. The exterior of this former theater-turned-museum alone gives you an indication of just what wackiness awaits inside.

The day was rainy and the museum seemed extra crowded as a result. But once we dried ourselves off and dropped our luggage off with the coat check, we were ready to see what it had to offer. The main entrance to the museum was this large, open air plaza, with most of the galleries looping around it. 

On the far end from the entrance is the former stage, now an explosion of colours, sculptures, and sights. You could easily stand there staring for an hour and still not see everything. Men with butter heads? Abraham Lincoln made out of pictures of naked people (or Dalivision, as it is sometimes called)?

There were rooms off this main hall containing all kinds of works, so we just set off exploring in whatever room had the least number of school children visiting on a field trip (there were a LOT). 

Dalí's face or a woman reading?

 Among his many talents, Dalí also designed jewelry. 

I just had a really hard time grasping how he ever decided a sculpture was "done"? Like, no wait, let me put this spoon on top of everything... ok yes, now we're done.

A really cool thing was a room filled with giant pieces of furniture. However, when you climbed a staircase at one end of the room and looked through a giant magnifying glass, an image of a woman's face appeared.

Another cool optical illusion was these paintings that were all stretched out and warped on a flat surface, but then a shiny wine bottle was placed in the middle of it, making the reflected image appear normal and proportioned. 

The ever-present image of him and Gala, together, holding up each other's world over our heads.

And a tiny glimpse of the painting he is probably best known for. 

It's only fitting that he chose this museum to be his final resting place. 

 

Costa Brava is beautiful, and if you're an art fan, it's a must do. We didn't luck out with weather, but that didn't take away from just how lovely these towns are.