At the Center of the Universe in Perpignan (1,852 km)

(2024-05-13/16) Less than 1,200 miles of driving and I've already arrived in Perpignan at the Center of the Universe - at least that's what Salvador Dali claims. In 1963, he had a cosmogonic vision and proclaimed Perpignan Train Station [La Gare de Perpignan] to be the Center of the Universe. As if that were not enough, he then captured it on canvas. The monumental oil painting (117 in × 160 in) is now a crowd-puller at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. From the train station, we walk under palm trees along the dead straight Avenue Général de Gaulle until we meet Salvador Dali in ecstasy on his red high seat. On the way we passed the city palace of wine merchant Emile Drancourt. Abandoned for almost two decades, the 19th century palace was only recently bought by a German artist and architect couple.

Even without visions or mind-bending drugs, Perpignan really is the center of our universe at the moment, all about the Olympic Flame. Even a heavy downpour could neither extinguish the Olympic Flame nor dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators.

Thirty miles from Perpignan, at the south-easternmost tip of France, lies Cerbère. This is where I spent my first vacation with my gang as a teenager almost half a century ago - unforgettable!