Surreal as you like...

Another highlight of my time in Spain in May (see A Day at the Rock) was a short trip with my son 

 to Cadaqués, a seaside town north of Barcelona (where he and his girlfriend live). 

They often go camping on this coast, and know it well.  

The scenery is stunning, and we had several lovely days there, 

but that's not the reason for this post.

We are both fans of Salvador Dali's paintings, and we were very keen 

to see the Dali Museum at Figueres, and his house and garden at Portlligat. 

The Museum and everything in it was designed and conceived by the artist, 

and is considered to be his last great work. 

It was amazing, strange and weird at times, but always brilliant. 

None of the photos I took inside came out well, but I did have a chance to see 

one of my favourite paintings, Galatea of the Spheres:

 The next day we walked over the hills from Cadaques to Portlligat to Dali's house. 

You have to book several weeks ahead to go inside, which we hadn't done, 

but we were able to buy tickets to walk around the garden, 

which I'm sure was far, far better than the house!

 The garden winds its way up to the top of the property. 

Here's the view from a high point:

As you will see, it was all white, with lots of lovely cool trees. 

And an egg theme...

One end of the very inviting swimming pool:

and, along a narrow channel, the other end:

 

There were some Dali-esque oddities, including quite a few 'snakes':

But the overall feeling was of a lovely, calm and peaceful place. 

I'd go back tomorrow, if I could:

Please click on the photos to enlarge them. They look better when they're bigger!

Step by Step: Away

I got the idea for this post from that wonderful photographer, Steve McCurry. 

Of course, his work far outclasses any of my holiday shots, but I looked through and found a number of walking photos that I wanted to post. So many that I've divided them into this post - the overseas ones - and the New Zealand ones, which I shall save for another time.

"Walking . . . is how the body measures itself against the earth."

~ Rebecca Solnit

Santa Margharita, Italy

Taormina, Sicily

"Architecture limits where one can walk,
but the walker invents other ways to go."
~ Rebecca Solnit

Syracuse, Sicily

Parma, Italy

"All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking."

  ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Parma

Parma

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction"

 ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Capri

"The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms."

~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

Cinque Terre, Italy

"Anywhere is walking distance, if you've got the time."

~ Stephen Wright

Ankara

Bolivia

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country.
A fine landscape is like a piece of music;
it must be taken at the right tempo."
  ~ Paul Scott Mowrer

Athens

"Step with care and great tact, and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act."

~ Dr. Seuss

Barcelona

Bricks and Mortar

A new TP - and this time it's Bricks and Mortar. This is great - I get another chance to post some of the beautiful structures I've seen in Europe over the last couple of years.

Firstly off to Montserrat, north of Barcelona in Spain. The beautiful Benedictine monastery and church are on the top of a mountain 1236 meters (4055 ft) above the valley floor. Montserrat is the highest point of the Catalan lowlands, and is an important shrine to the Catalonian people. I was there at Easter last year, and although I'm not Catholic I loved the spiritual atmosphere of this beautiful spot. 

 

My second stop is Meteora, in the north of Greece, which I visited on the same trip. The area is famous for the monasteries which sit perched on the very top of high mountains. It is an amazing place.
At Varlaam Monastery, built in 1350, they used to winch supplies up to the monks - it took 22 years to hoist all of the building materials for the three churches, the monks' cells - and a water tank.
Seven monks live there today.

This lovely little chapel is at another Meteora monastery, St Stephen's, built around 1400. 

It is now a nunnery.

This year I visited Milan; these two piles of bricks and mortar are both part of the Castello Sforzesco,  

once the seat of the Duchy of Milan, now a museum and art gallery.

While in Italy I also went to Lucca, and it was one of the highlights of my trip. Here are two 

not-so-majestic bricks and mortar pictures:

 

Thanks for re-visiting these lovely places with me; looking back on travel pictures immediately takes me back to the moment, the feelings, the atmosphere. Thanks to Carmi at Written Inc for this Thematic Photographic opportunity!