On Thursday past, Jamie and I headed down to Dublin for a very elaborate stay – as his birthday present to me, he had booked us in (as a surprise!) to the world-famous Shelbourne; one seriously grand hotel on St. Stephen’s Green. When our taxi pulled in at the curb, a doorman (complete with top hat and long-tailed coat) opened the door for us and brought us in to the hotel. It was breathtakingly beautiful, I’ve never been somewhere so grand. Extremely welcoming and friendly staff checked us in and gave us complimentary drinks and our room keys. We were in room 274; just four doors down from the room where Grace Kelly (y’know, as in Princess Grace and Prince Rainier) always requested to stay in when they visited; 270. Laurel and Hardy also stayed on our floor, in room 205, which excited me greatly too!
The hotel in all of its beauty was made all the more magical with its Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree and the fireplace in the lobby, and the reception area had a very sweet and festive train set, travelling through a land of sweets and gingerbread houses to deliver its cargo of marshmallows and malteasers.
It was a very relaxed and indulgent stay; we browsed at our leisure through the shops on Grafton Street, swooned over lots of shiny things in Brown Thomas (Ireland’s uber-glamorous answer to London’s Selfridges, being owned by the same folk) which was in full festive swing, and ate (both days!) in Carluccio’s – gorgeous Italian food in a charming yet very comfortable setting. (That blur in the photo is me – running across the road in excitement!) At the front is a very popular deli – fresh foods available to buy and take away. The perfect introduction as we walked in.
The next day, we done much of the same, strolling and exploring. As I say, it was a chilled-out stay and we didn’t do anything particularly ‘touristy’ (as we have done many of those on previous visits) – this is reflected in my photos here – I guess the closest we got to that on this occasion was visiting the beautiful Trinity College. There was a graduation on when we arrived and it was lovely to even just pass through – the grounds were a perfect setting for their special day.
Both days (and even the day after too!) I wore some form of tartan. I can’t get enough of this trend, and the colours are so Christmassy! So I’m weaving this in here, my first sort-of outfit post.
Have any of you been to Dublin? x
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