A much needed Weekend away in Barcelona

A couple of weekends ago, I was lucky enough to take a quick trip to Barcelona with my parents.  I had never been before so I was looking forward to taking in all the sights.  We flew in on the Saturday morning and flew home on the Sunday evening so it was a very brief trip.  Our main purpose of going was to visit some family friends who live in the outskirts of Barcelona.  It was so lovely to visit our friends and exchange presents before Christmas and better still, we still managed to see some of Barcelona.  

Prior to the trip, I had been pretty stressed out - mainly due to a few difficulties I was having in attempting to return to work.  It was a relief to be able to get away from everything and have time to relax.  I've never been abroad in the winter before and I found it quite surreal to be standing on a sunny beach at the beginning of December.  It felt as though the sun was doing me some good and I came back feeling a bit more chilled and refreshed.  I thought I'd share some of the photos I took during my visit...

The Olympic Park was a photographer's heaven - very futuristic and so much symmetry!

We went to a shopping centre that had been built inside an old bull fighting colosseum - the Christmas lights were amazing!

You could walk around the roof of the shopping centre while taking in the fabulous views over the city.

Next we took a look around the exterior of the Sagrada Familia.  I found the contrast between the old and new parts really interesting.  At first it seemed as though the cranes were ruining the views of the building but in the end I realised that they could add something to the photos.

Outside the Sagrada Familia was a busy little Christmas market.  There was an incredible amount of Nativity figurines.

On the second day of our trip we went to Castelldefels where we took a long stroll down the tranquil beach.  There were some excellent opportunities to experiment with reflections in my photography.

It was 18 degrees that day on the beach although it felt warmer, especially having come from a very cold and rainy England.  For me the beach made the trip, it was just so beautiful and calming.

An interesting sculpture that I was intrigued by.

Do you like to get away around Christmas time?  I think I may now be a convert to having a winter holiday!

The One Day Seeker.