Dublin mini break ?>

Dublin mini break

We are lucky enough to live just a couple of hours drive from Dublin so when hubby had a week off work recently we decided to drive down and stay overnight for a little mini break. We stayed in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road which is around 15 minutes walk from the city centre. IMG_5023One of my favourite things about Dublin are the stunning Georgian doors which feature prominently around the city. So imagine my delight when I stepped out of our hotel and saw not one but TWO pink doors across the road! My husband was getting something from the car and when he turned around I had disappeared across the road to snap a pic. Luckily he’s used to this and just rolled his eyes and stood around patiently until I had got my pics!  The 15 minute walk to the city centre was lovely with lots of blossom trees and stunning doors  although by the time we reached St Stephen’s Green hubby’s patience was wearing slightly thin due to me stopping frequently to take pics of said doors! IMG_5032IMG_5033IMG_5538

IMG_5537IMG_5027

IMG_4691IMG_5030IMG_4685

IMG_5029

I had booked a table for us at Ladurée in the city centre and my picture taking pit stops made us a tiny bit late but it was so worth it I’m sure you’ll agree! The walk into the city centre took us through St Stephen’s Green, the beautiful  city centre park,  which was looking particularly pretty with all the beautiful flowers and blossom trees.

IMG_5023

IMG_4708

IMG_4695

IMG_4715

IMG_4968

IMG_4722

IMG_4956

IMG_4717

We arrived at Ladurée just a few minutes late and were shown to our window table. I had heard mixed reports about the new tearoom and was very much looking forward to visiting it as I’m a huge Ladurée fan and have frequently visited all their Parisian ones where my favourites are Rue Royale and Rue Bonaparte. I’m sure that any problems must just have been teething problems as I couldn’t fault the service or the food and enjoyed everything about our visit and can’t wait to go back! I always loved the Ladurée counter in Brown Thomas but felt it was disappointing that you couldn’t enjoy the full Ladurée experience of the tearoom so in my opinion it’s a huge improvement.

IMG_4869

IMG_4866

IMG_4835

IMG_4729

I managed (just) to stop myself from straightening this little tree at the front entrance, not good for those with OCD tendencies and I kind of wish now that I had fixed it before taking this pic but I think that might have been a step too far for hubby after having to stop for all my door pics ?

IMG_5541

IMG_4881

IMG_4802

IMG_4801

IMG_4971

IMG_5036

IMG_4748

IMG_4787

IMG_4785

IMG_4784

After we had enjoyed our yummy sandwiches & pastries I snapped some pics of the gorgeous gifts  which Ladurée is famous for and hubby treated me to a beautiful candle which I’d had my eye on for ages!  Their packaging is to die for and I have to confess I have a huge collection of Ladurée boxes which I don’t think I would ever part with as they’re just so pretty!

IMG_4752

IMG_4757

IMG_4759

IMG_4764

IMG_4817

IMG_4808

IMG_4806

IMG_4813

IMG_4821

Of course a visit to Dublin wouldn’t be complete without going into Brown Thomas even just to admire all those gorgeous shoes!! My daughter Rebecca got her beautiful  Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes here, they were locked in a glass case the day we went shopping for them which gave us the idea of displaying them in a glass cloche after her wedding!

IMG_5540

 

IMG_4921

 

IMG_4927We also visited the beautiful Jacadi children’s clothes shop to pick up a couple of things for Joshua & Lydia before heading black to our hotel to collect our car and drive home.  We definitely felt the benefit of our little break and are planning another trip very soon!

IMG_4902

IMG_5544

IMG_5543IMG_5534

Lydia modelling her little pink coat from Jacadi ???

Hope you’ve enjoyed the pics and I would  definitely recommend a trip to Dublin especially if you like to take lots of door pics ?

Louise xxx

Share on FacebookPin on PinterestTweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+Share on TumblrEmail this to someone

11 thoughts on “Dublin mini break

Leave a Reply to Tracey Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *