Final excursion!

On Monday (13^th June) the school went on a final school trip to museums and then to local beaches. I went with first and second grade classes and their teachers. We set off from the MaxiDia supermarket at 9 o’clock and the bus was full of excited children. Firstly we travelled to a town called Púbol where the Castell Gala-Dali was. Salvador Dali was born in Figueres, which is a town about an hour from where I’ve been living. He had several houses around the region of Catalonia and one house he bought was a castle (or stately home) for his wife Gala Elúard Dali. She was a Russian heiress who married Dali in 1934 and they remarried in 1958.

An interesting fact about this castle is that Dali specifically bought it for Gala, it was her home and he could only visit if he was invited. It would be great for her because if she argued with her husband she could retreat to her home and he wouldn’t bother her until she wanted to speak to him again. Their marriage as far as I understood was a good one, although she had a string of extramarital affairs, however they were married until Gala’s death in 1982. Dali died in 1989, but his houses and museums in this part of Spain attract visitors from all over the world and his art has sold for millions (I don’t know why - I’m not particularly fond of his art, but well, each to their own).

The castle was gorgeous. It very much had the Dalisian style, but because this was Gala’s house most of it was very tasteful. She had a lovely blue silk four poster bed which I wouldn’t mind sleeping in! The guide who took us around the castle was very friendly and had a great rapport with the children. I had a laugh with my colleague Silvia and we took a selfie in the mirror above Dali’s bathtub. Then we went out to the garden and saw the carriage and the two cars Dali and his wife owned (one was a blue Cadillac). Then we went to the bottom of the garden and saw what was a swimming pool and is now a fountain. When the castle was turned into a museum in 1996 they had filled the bottom of the pool with a lot of stones – this was to stop people from jumping in. It was interesting and the castle was very beautiful. Hopefully I will get a castle of my own – chance would be a fine thing!!

After this we were off on the bus and headed towards our next destination: L’Estartit. The kids were very excited about this and I chatted away to my colleagues until all of a sudden they started chanting: Platja! Platja! Platja! (Beach! Beach! Beach!) The bus driver turned round to park and one of the teachers joked that we were going home instead and one of the kids started to cry! However the bus driver parked and soon we were at the beach, slapping on sun cream and jumping into the sea and swimming against the waves. The weather was great, it was cloudy but very warm and the sun wasn’t beating down on us. After an hour it was time to return home and there were a few tired children sleeping on the bus home. I really enjoyed the day and the kids really enjoyed it too! Below are some photos I took of the Dali castle and ones of me enjoying my time in the sea!