Salvador Dalí

I kicked off this crazy summer by taking a group of 18 students to the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg. Another teacher and I loaded the bus at 6:15am in a torrential downpour and began the 3+ hour trip. I could not have asked for a better group of kids! They were excited, respectful, and fully engaged the entire day. The museum was incredible. The paintings took my breath away and the building itself is so impressive. One of the neatest things about this field trip was that I was able to arrange the whole thing for free! The museum is beyond welcoming to school groups.  So much so that they offer free admission and guided tours at specific times during the school year. Two a day and for every 10 students an adult gets in free plus they give you a private, docent-led tour.  We had an amazing docent, Jamie, who kept 18 teenagers totally engaged for almost an hour and a half. I can barely do that for 45 minutes. This tour would have cost us almost $500, but it pays to do some research for specials, especially at museums!  If you aren't familiar with Dalí by name, google him.  He was a surrealist painter and was quite the character. This is on my favorite quotes of his. I think it sums up his personality pretty well:

"The two most fortunate things that could happen to a person are, first, to be Spanish, and second, to be named Salvador Dalí. These two things have happened to me." 

I'm going to try to get to Figueres when I am Spain to see the Dalí Museum there as well. If not, I will definitely be visiting the one in St. Pete again. If you live nearby or are ever in the area, I highly suggest a trip here! Thursday nights after 5 are the cheapest.