Salvador Dali, one of the most memorable painters from our lifetime, was as eccentric as he was talented. Born in Catalonia, he traveled all over the world, but decided in his later life to move back home. Living in Cadaques, his home was surrounded by nature. Water, trees, and old-fashioned houses with roads paved in cobblestone awaited me. My adventure in visiting the house he called home in his last years on Earth was a delightful treat.

Having been born in Catalonia, I visit as often as I can, going whole summers from age four until nineteen. I still go as often as I can, as my father still lives there. These pictures are from my last trip there. My father excitedly proclaimed that we would be going on a trip to see Dali’s house. What was in store…I could not have even imagined.

The town was small, and far… very far. It took us a good four hours to reach the small, secluded town, and once we got there, we left the car in a community parking lot and walked the rest of the way into town. Not many people were walking around, and after an hour and a half we finally reached the entrance to the artist’s humble domain.

The home was unique to say the least. It has hidden bedrooms, hidden hallways as well as notable off beat sculptures: A rhino head with giant bird wings hung above a window, one room was within another room…almost as if someone had dropped a giant cement shoe box into it. They all overlapped each other. The beds Dali and his wife slept in were separated and Dali and his wife each had a chamber that the tour guide made abundantly clear was used solely for sex. Creative? Yes, very. Dali’s home and eccentric keepsakes stuck in my head for a long time and still swim around when I let them. He was an extremely creative mind that cared little about how others perceived him. He has pictures all over his closets of himself wearing heels and with other familiar artists. Just as he was eccentric he was loved, and he loved back. One of the paintings left behind in his home is quite striking. A painting in which he is painting himself painting his wife. The love and respect they had for each other is seen all throughout the house, so much so, that the tour guide told us after Dali had died, his wife passed soon after. Of heartbreak. If you believe that or not it’s up to you. But I can assure you one thing… the four hour car trip and one hour walk…were well worth it.

Dali