Return To The Dali

This was my second time at the Dali Museum, but the first one since it moved to a brand-new building on the waterfront. Open since January, I was pretty anxious to see the new place as well as revel in the bizarreness of Salvador once again. I wasn't disappointed. The new site is gorgeous and if you are down it has become a must stop. With the largest collection of Dali works outside Europe, the Dali Museum is something to really be proud of.

The outside courtyard is full of glimmering pond works and flora.

Inside it imagines space like Dali himself would have designed it.

All spirals and flowing glass, it is a fitting home for an artist who was larger than life.

The view of the Bay is exquisite.

In the lobby is this old car which is a 3-dimensional imaging of a Dali dream. Put a dollar in the machine and it lights up and storms inside which contains a mermaid.

The chauffeur is a deep-sea diver.

Weird, magical and totally Dali.

They are very strict on no cameras or cell phones, so I couldn't take pictures of any of the art, but you can find them on the web. Here are a couple of my favorites this time. You can't beat the Masterworks, but these are pretty wonderful.

Don't expect to visit this place with change from your couch. It is expensive ($21.00 per person) and the staff wear tuxes. You can either go on group tours or grab a small recorder that has info on the painting you can listen to as you stroll from area to area. It was crowded, with all kinds of nationalities, and a real pleasure to experience. The place has a cafe and there is a large gift shop.

If you need some culture, and don't we all, then take in a museum sometime. Even if it costs a beer or even a 12 pack, or case, it just might be worth your while. For me, this place is the epitome of cool, intellectual cool, beauty cool, art world cool. I felt smarter just breathing the air. It's a whole different kind of universe, a universe this small-town boy thinks is pretty...well, cool.

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