Friends we knew in Brunei, Jo and Kevin, recently retired and moved to the north of Spain in Catalonia. They graciously invited us to come and stay with them.

One fine morning we drove out to Port Lligat and toured Salvador Dali’s house, where he lived from 1930 almost until his death in 1989.

Dali had a rather odd attachment to eggs.

He was also somewhat of a mechanical genius. He designed this pulleyed easel for his workshop, which could be let down through the floor to the ground level for ease of removal of his larger canvasses. He could also adjust the easel to reach different areas of the canvas while sitting in his chair.

Intrigued by all of this, we visited the Dali Museum in nearby Figueres.

Among the many wonders was Dali’s heart, captured in rubies and gold.

After a few days with Jo and Kevin, we took a train south to the big city of Barcelona.

We drank a few of the local beverage …

… and then went sight-seeing. Among the architectural wonders of the city is the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral built by Gaudi following naturalistic principles of design including buttresses in the shape of giant trees and windows that look like honeycombs.

Have a look at the interior:

The exterior view