Monday, 17 May 2004

Location: Figueres, Catalunya, Spain

Barcelona: the dirtiest and most eclectic city in Spain I´ve seen. I spent a few days here accompanied by my brother who flew out from the UK. Though it rained a lot, we enjoyed the street entertainment and intensity of the city that saw 3 million drunken people on the streets when Franco died in 1974. The graffiti seem to me to attest to Barcelona´s socialist tendencies - which met with my approval. Beggars abounded.

The bustle of Barcelona was replaced by the calm of the Costa Brava as I travelled north; the noise of voices and traffic by the sounds of seagulls; the smell of sewage by the scent of sea air. Both are fun to me: pampering to different parts of my personality.

In Catalunya I discovered the beauty of the Emporda region - Dali´s stomping ground. He holidayed in Cadaques as a child and built his home in nearby Port Lligat. I reached Cadaques on the day they celebrated his centenary, and there was music, dancing and fireworks. The scenery of this area is fantastic - the best I´ve seen in Spain. Heady stuff. I decided to visit another point of the Dali triangle: Figueres, where his famous museum is situated.

So, here I am in Figueres where tomorrow I´ll visit the museum.