Hi there ladies.
It’s Friday night so it’s all wild here…pj’s on, wine in the glass and a takeaway en route…happy days!
If you follow me over on snap-chat you will have seen I was in Limerick on Easter Sunday night with a friend. I was really looking forward to this night away as it was our Christmas present to each other . Sometimes it’s nicer to enjoy an experience rather than always searching for that perfect present in the run up to Christmas. We are all so hectic in our lives so catching up with friends is important and a lovely way to recharge. I had been to Limerick a few times with Colin over the years and I have to say I really love the city.
Rather than writing a big blog post on what I did and where I went I’ve decided to write down the reasons you SHOULD visit Limerick…but actually it is all about what I did and where I went!! haha
From Athlone, it was a quick spin to Limerick – just an hour and a half. It’s so accessible from all parts of the country really with great roads leading into it.
The George Boutique Hotel is is where we stayed. It’s literally slap-bang in the city centre so you can walk everywhere! (as obvious as it is, we drove around it 3 times looking for it – it has a narrow entrance with an escalator and lift up to reception, so my advice is to look up for the HUGE sign that says ‘The George Hotel’…all the giggling when we eventually saw it was part of the fun!) It’s a really funky hotel with friendly staff and very quiet rooms despite the city centre location. There was a stag party on our floor but they were fairly sound until we heard their rendition of “It’s a long way to Tipperary” at 4am in the morning. I felt like reminding them it wasn’t a long way to Tipperary as we were only in Limerick and a taxi could be organised if they didn’t whisht up…but one verse and they conked out! We didn’t eat in the hotel but they had a bar and restaurant which looked really busy all the time, Da Vincenzo Wine & Food Hall. The rate was amazing too – €85 room only (on Easter Sunday night!) – check it out!
Brown Thomas – well sure why not? (it was literally a 2 minute walk from the hotel, as was Debenhams!) I nearly fell outta my high heels when I walked in to see a Charlotte Tilbury counter in BT which had just opened 3 days beforehand …you would nearly think it was planned! It would’ve been a shame not to buy something, so I did! I have been lusting after this eye shadow pencil (for green eyes) since I was introduced to it on the day of Pippa’s fashion factory…and no it wasn’t in Pippa’s make up bag! We decided to go through our own make-up when having dinner in Kin Khao (after a few glasses/bottles of wine) and thanks to Sinead I’ve been wanting this since then…well I did wait nearly 3 months and it’s my first CT purchase, so I feel like I deserve it. There was plenty of temptation in the handbag section of BT too but I just snap-chatted my way through it!
Paddy Frawley’s Pub – the nicest staff we encountered on our visit to Limerick. We popped in here for a glass of wine after arriving…as you do! We got chatting to a really nice bar-man called Wayne who told us that that the restaurant we were going for dinner, ‘The Cornstore’ was their sister business. We had 2 glasses of yummy pinot grigio here over a lovely chat and he recommended where to go for drinks after dinner, where to go for breakfast the next day and where to go shopping…every recommendation was on point, so read on! Thanks Wayne.
The Cornstore Restaurant – we had booked this earlier in the week for dinner and it did not disappoint – it was just gorgeous. The atmosphere was buzzing, the staff were super friendly and the food…well, it was just divine! We got a starter of bread and dips…as you can see we got a loaf!! Carb city or what.
Fabulous menu – lots of choice!
Nancy Blakes – a huge pub with nooks and crannys and a large out-door smoking area – we were fortunate to get a table and we enjoyed the fashion spotting and people-watching with our bellies full of food! We even got chatted up by 2 aul lads aged about 70 from Cork – they were great aul craic and we laughed away with them for a while…they had really strong Cork accents so between that and the music I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, so it was just ‘nod and smile!’
Breakfast – The Buttery – Oh my god if you ever go to Limerick you need to go here for brunch! I had the most amazing eggs benedict…deeeeelicious. My friend had a hot chocolate with her breakfast and it was a huge glass of steamed milk served with a chocolate stick that melted into the milk when you stirred it…for any chocoholics this looked gorgeous! I was watching everyone else’s food being served around our table and everything looked just scrumptious.
Shopping – Well now, I couldn’t go without checking out the shops…you know, to report back! And lets just say we were very impressed! We drove out to The Crescent Shopping Centre, 5-7 mins from the city centre. We were told to drive straight the whole way from O’Connell Street, which is the main street and we would find it…I was dubious of these directions but they were accurate – straight, straight, straight and there it was, in all it’s glory!
So what was there? Everything!! My faves Zara & H&M and all the usual high suspects such as River Island, Next, Penneys etc. There was a Shaw’s department store there too which is great for cosmetics at a reasonable price. Oh and I couldn’t believe it housed the amazing Parfois too…I normally only go here if I’m in Dublin city or the airport and I always forget how brilliant it is for bags and accessories and moreso, how reasonable it is. And oh yes ladies it’s another one you can order from online! I did buy a bag when I was there – a really nice leather-look shopper, it was €24.99 and it has an insert bag which can be used separately or just to safely mind your bits and bobs when zipped up inside the shopper bag. Not sure if the photos do it justice but it’s really nice and I will hopefully get around to transferring all my stuff into it over the weekend as it’ll be perfect for work.
Love the detail of this bag.
Of course we indulged in one more coffee and hot chocolate in Butlers Chocolate Café before we hit the road home with a boot-ful of shopping and our expanding waistlines…but it was soooo worth it!
I loved my night away – and despite the bad press Limerick is sometimes marred with, I can honestly say, Limerick you are a lady and I will see you again soon, I hope. So if you are planning a night away with a friend or the other half I would highly recommend this vibrant city.
So much for a ‘short’ blog post…I’m always rambling on!
Have a great weekend everyone xxx
Tanya
My Little Love Stories 