From Across The Pond, Day Six

Tuesday, December 29th

Godfather Alan playing Yahtzee with the kids.

"Do you feel like you're playing with yourself times three?" I asked.

We awakened after a fairly poor night of sleep. Ah well, guess we weren't over the hump. The children actually slept fairly well, but Jon and I stayed up late, and also got up again during the night. Our minds weren't used to being still. I feel like I keep harping on the time change thing, but it's really taking me for a ride. In the morning, when my body thinks it's 2 am, I count the hours until I get to go to bed. Then, nighttime comes, my body thinks it's midafternoon, and sleep eludes me.

On the docket for today: a trip to the Salvador Dali museum in Figueres.

I first heard of Salvador Dali during my Sophomore year of college, when my roommates and I visited the other Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was fascinated with his work. Four years ago, when we were in Barcelona, we visited a small, but disappointingly unimpressive collection of some of his work. The museum in Figueres, however, we knew would be the real deal. He created it himself, at the end of his life. Said to be the largest surrealist object in the world, it was chock-full of weird, wild stuff.

Seen from the right angle (which one has to climb on the back of a wooden camel holding an eyepiece to realize) this installation resembles a photo of Marilyn Monroe.

It's all about angles with this piece, too. From far away, it looks like Abraham Lincoln. From up close, it's Gala, the great love of his life, nude.

Gala, again. I have been intrigued with her ever since reading about her in St. Petersburg. I'm hoping we'll visit the castle Dali bought for her towards the end of their lives. He was allowed to visit, by invitation only.

Zephyr is very eager for Grady to see this picture of him, touching a sculpture of poop.

It would have been a more relaxing museum visit without Jubilee, who seems to always be on the verge of a destructive rampage. We took turns carrying her, and comforting ourselves with the thought that children seem to get easier as they get older- or at least easier to take to museums.

The other guests arrived a few hours after we got home. I haven't taken any pictures of them yet, but everyone seems very nice. There is a brother-and-sister sibling set, early teenagers, who are playing so sweetly with Zephyr and Jubilee.

Looking pretty relaxed ourselves- that's what a nightly ritual of hot tub and cava will do to you.