Dali Planet #175: The Hotel Duran
The Hotel Duran, on Calle Lasauca in Cadaques, always had a table in its restaurant reserved for Dali and Gala in the 1960s and ’70s. Founded in 1855, the hotel has 65 rooms, and the restaurant has reproductions of his works on view.
Over dinner, Dali sometimes indulged his muse by drawing on the tablecloth. The story is told of the day he came in and found an old friend among the customers, eating alone. Dali invited the man to join him, but his friend refused, saying he was almost finished his meal, though in fact he was fearful because every time he got together with Dali something outrageous happened and he ended up publicly humiliated.
Dali sat at a different table and ordered soup. When it arrived, he flung it into the air, drenching his neighbours. Rather than being furious, they were delighted to realise that it was the great Salvador Dali who’d splashed them and gathered around for autographs. Dali looked at his old friend as if to say, “You see? We’re here to amuse.”
Another anecdote posted on the hotel’s website isn’t so funny. Dali was on his deathbed and his sister Ana Maria came to visit him, checking in here first and staying for several days. However she was repeatedly turned away by the custodians of the Galatea Tower at the Theatre-Museum where he was living, a variety of excuses given, and returned to the hotel indignant each time. Finally she was advised to ignore the doorkeepers and march into his bedroom. And she did, so decisively that no one dared stop her, and her brother greeted her warmly.
