Barcelona in pictures

Happy Sunday!

Hope you have enjoyed the past few posts based on Barcelona.

See you next week when it's back to dressing for traditional British weather, including a post about my new winter coat!

Thank you for reading x

Here are my highlights of Barcelona in pictures....

Barcelona manicure - OPI Rally Pretty Pink

For my trip to Barcelona, I wanted to wear a nail polish that sparkles in and out of the sunlight and that would match most of my outfits.

I chose Rally Pretty pink by OPI which is a heather pink colour packed with gold foil sparkles. It was part of the Serena Williams Grand Slam collection.

The polish looks golden from one angle and a dusky purple from another angle. It is stunning in the sunshine.

There is something very futuristic about this polish. It is a girly Star Wars colour. I think that Princess Leia would like this nail polish and it would go with all her outfits - just as it went with all of mine!

Thank you for reading x

A Peach floaty dress and Gaudi architecture - Barcelona OOTCB

There are a lot of full skirts in the shops at the moment, which pleases me as I am very girlie and I find them easy to wear and very comfortable.

For my Barcelona trip I packed a peach dress with a full, floaty skirt and paired it with a blue and gold belt and gold accessories.

It was the perfect outfit for an afternoon discovering Gaudi's architecture.

Here are the highlights

Sagrada Familiar:

Casa Mila:

Casa Batllo:

Thank you for reading x

Oasis "Lola" dress for a night out in Barcelona - OOTCB

One of the outfits I packed for my recent trip to Barcelona was the "Lola cowl shift dress" from Oasis.

I bought it in the raspberry colour (shown as "purple" on the website) buy it here.

The dress has a cowl neckline, a fitted waist and a draped skirt. It comes with a metallic belt but I decided to pair it with bright yellow.

Outfit details:

Dress - Oasis

Belt - Topshop

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Bag - Karen Millen

Brown leather cuff - Oasis

Perfect for a night out on Placa Reial in Barcelona:

Thank you for reading x

Trollied Dolly dress for exploring Barcelona - OOTCB

Hola!

I have had a break from blogging due to a trip to Barcelona and a week trying to adjust to the change in the British weather.

My next few posts will be OOTCB (outfits of the city break) and will focus on what I packed for Barcelona.

I found a cute little red dress by Trollied Dolly. It is so easy to wear, and ideal for city breaks. I was not sure how warm it would be in Spain in October (it was warm) so I thought I could keep cool with this sleeveless dress or add a black cardigan or denim jacket if I got cold.

The dress has the cutest black bow on the front, meaning that jewellery can be kept to a minimum and that it can be dressed down, paired with black ballet shoes and a large bag.

It was a perfect outfit for exploring Barcelona, here are some highlights......

The Gothic Quarter:

Placa Reial:

Las Ramblas:

Barcelona Harbour:

Thank you for reading x

I will share more Barcelona pictures on my next few posts. Enjoy your Sunday evening.

City break packing

I love city breaks but packing for them is worse than packing for any other kind of holiday.

I am going to Barcelona tomorrow and so I have been trying to pack this weekend.

It is stressing me out and these are my top 5 issues.....

1. Trying not to take too much stuff. Jet2's 10 kilo carry on allowance is just no good for a girl like me! So i am always happy to pay for and check in an extra case. But even the hand luggage is a nightmare as there is no way I would risk putting some of my shoes in the hold - so filling a handbag this size with all my stuff and a couple of pairs of designer shoes is always a challenge!

2. Estimating the weather and packing appropriately. 

Easy when going to Prague in January! You know it is likely to be below zero and likely to snow. So it's coats (yes plural, I am that bad), hats, gloves, scarves, big jumpers and warm boots........

Wrapping up in Prague

Also easy when going to Rome in the summer. It's going to be hot hot hot. So pack floaty dresses or skirts and try to pack strapless tops (don't forget a shawl if you want to visit a church - which can also double up as a picnic blanket, if you want to sit in a park)

Keeping cool in Rome

Not so easy for other city breaks when you can't anticipate the weather!

3. Appropriate footwear:

For the day, when running around a city this means flats (but not too flat) I took gold gladiator sandals to Rome. They were the only pair of flats I packed and I thought I was being so clever as they matched all my outfits. They were not cushioned at all and really not appropriate for hard core sight seeing 5 days in a row in the summer heat! Lesson learned - I now try to take a mix of flat sandals, ballet flats with some cushioning and even wedge heels.

For the night, I just want to be in my high heels. So I just make sure I book a hotel in the heart of the action so bars and restaurants are a totter away. When in cities like Paris and Berlin that have more than one "centre" this theory can not work, so you have to be prepared to tackle transport systems in sky high heels! 

Heels versus flats in Paris

4. Remembering the smaller details:

Belts and statement jewellery can make an outfit (but they can also be heavy to pack) and you also need to think about a coat or jacket that will go with everything.

Accessorising in Berlin

5. And don't even mention "What colour nail polish should I wear?"

See you all soon and no prizes for guessing what/ where my next post will be about.

Thank you for reading x

PS - despite the packing nightmares - I love city breaks!