Saturday & Sunday, September 12th & 13th

One can honestly describe Cadaques -- a cozy, white-washed Cataluña town tucked into a Mediterranean cove -- as picture perfect. That’s exactly what it is. Seaside stopovers don’t get any more picturesque than this.

Salvidore Dali, the famous Spanish artist, apparently thought so. In the 1920’s he and his wife made this remote port their home. Dali was an artist of many media, including film, and although his popularity as a painter was as as a Surrealist, he became less so in later years and produced several large-scale historical paintings.

We toured his eclectic home on Saturday and got a peek into the public and private life of a man who lived “Dali” like a vaudevillian actor hamming up his signature role. He mugged for the press with his pie eyes and waxed moustache, and yet left a serious mark in the world of art that is considered edgy even by today’s standards.

Cadaques was perfect in another way: as a final stop on our Spain adventure. We had just enough time there to enjoy the sun, to sample the wide variety of locally-caught seafood, and to meet a few locals along the way.

Most important, we had time to reflect. We talked about what was most meaningful, as well as fun, on this trip. What's not to love about the ancient architecture we’d seen throughout the country, the vibrant city life, the long stretches of hills and valleys spotted with signature gray-green olive and almond trees, not to mention the bursts of brilliant colors that were everywhere during the festivals we visited. I figure the Spaniards must hold some kind of record for number-of-festivals-per-year.

One of our favorite travel writers made a comment that touches on more than the surface sights and sounds of Spain, as exciting as those can be. “Travel is recess,” he wrote, “and we all need it.” Boy is that true. I’d take the school analogy one step further, however. Travel can also be a much-needed field trip, where you not only see the sights but where you expand your knowledge base and broaden your life-experience in ways that you never imagined. Much of that takes you by surprise as you strike up a conversation with a local vendor, or the exchange students sitting next to you as you wait (and wait!) for a bus. There was the man sitting across the aisle from me on one of our flights who is one of the executive directors at Cedars of Sinai Hospital and who has a perspective on health care reform you rarely hear discussed on the news. That was unexpected.

These “souvenirs” don’t make it into scrapbooks, but maybe they should. They are takeaways of timeless value, giving you a perspective that expands your horizon and enriches your life. You return home refreshed, educated, and in a better place.

Sure, I liked recess in school as much as every other kid, but I can’t say that recess was anything close to life-enhancing. I can say that this trip was.