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Dubai Travel Diary – Part I

March 28, 2017

Hi from Dubai,

We’ve been here 4 full days already and time needs to slow down. It’s my first time here and to say I’m blown away by the city is an understatement. It’s like no city I’ve ever been to before, a luxurious lego-land in the desert where culture and city life go hand in hand. The buildings are so modern and impressive and there is just so much to do here, whether you’re seeking out a break in the sun or an adventure filled holiday – it’s got it all. We’ve definitely done a mix of both so far on our holiday so I wanted to put together a blog post with some info on what we’ve been up to. I’ve so much to share that I thought the best way to do this would be to split it into 2 posts.

Some general info

The local currency (AED) works out at about 1/4 of a euro per AED.

Taxi’s are super cheap (you will get them everywhere) but everything else (food, drink, shopping) is pretty pricey.

There are no off licences over here, and as alcohol is so expensive, I would recommend picking up some in duty free before travelling if you’re fond of a cheeky glass of vino 😉

If you’re flying into Dubai Airport (DBX) give yourself plenty of time to get through passport control, it took us over an hour.

The sun doesn’t really get hot until about 10/10.30am so don’t rush yourself out of bed in the morning.

Where we are staying

We are staying in the fab Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel and its definitely the most luxurious hotel I’ve ever stayed in. There are SO many hotels in Dubai so we spent so long on booking.com trying to decide which one to book before we came. We eventually decided on this one, based on the amazing reviews it got on Tripadvisor, the location and the style of the hotel. We got an upgrade on arrival – and our room is just out of this world. I’d say it’s easily bigger than my whole house back in Dublin haha. The view is to die for – and the BATH!!!

Where we are eating

We booked breakfast with our hotel – which was a great call. It’s the biggest and best hotel breakfast I’ve ever seen with a Juice making station, Omelete making station and literally every type of breakfast food you could imagine. We usually fill up for the day at breakfast. Continue Reading…

Fashion, Travel

Milan Fashion Week 2017

March 2, 2017

Hey everyone,

I’m just back from what was the coolest weekend at Milan Fashion Week with my friend Dearbhla. We conquered London Fashion Week last year together and thought it was time to take on a new city. I’ve been laying low since coming back, and this blog post was a little slower to come than usual. After the month of travelling I’ve just had so much to catch up on in work, and in life. But I can’t wait to share more with you about this amazing weekend getaway.

The first thing we noticed was how expensive hotels were for this weekend. Luckily we found the gorgeous Aparthotel Meneghino – which I’d highly recommend for anyone visiting Milan. It’s central, very clean and the staff were so helpful. Also, look at the view we had from our balcony. Continue Reading…

Fashion, Travel

Summer Dreaming in February

February 21, 2017

Hey everyone,

This week is a little less crazy than last week, no private jets this week 😉 Although I am off to Milan at the weekend for Milan Fashion Week, so it’s a busy one getting prepared for that. Outfit planning is in full swing – I have an order coming in from Revolve which I have my fingers crossed arrives on time. You can see some of the bits I picked up on the shop section on my site.

Milan is somewhere I can’t believe I’ve never been before and I’m so excited to visit. My new years resolution of visiting 8 new places this year is off to a good start: Amsterdam, Lisbon and Monte Carlo so far, I’m about to add my fourth city to the list. Travelling is my absolute favourite thing to do, it’s my favourite thing to spend money on and I love having somewhere to document and share it with you all. I had forgotten the excitement of going somewhere you’ve never been, exploring different architecture, learning different cultures and meeting new people.

I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met

After the past few weeks I’m more determined than ever to make this year about travelling, and I’m already counting down the days to summer 🙂

Anyway I’m off to do some shopping for MFW, stay tuned for lots of updates over the weekend,

Lou x

Continue Reading…

Fashion, Travel

Private Jet to Monte Carlo with Samsung

February 19, 2017

Hey guys,

I don’t even know where to start with this blog post. It’s a pretty special one. It’s not every day you get to travel by private jet to Monte Carlo. What a day!!! I haven’t felt that excited ALL DAY in a long time, I literally felt like a child going on a plane for my first time. Even though we were all up from 5am in the morning, with the energy between us all you wouldn’t have known it.

The idea behind the trip was to live the A-list life for a day to celebrate the launch of the new Samsung A-Series phone. I received my Samsung A5 phone the day before the trip, mine is gold but they also come in 3 other colours (Black, Blue & Peach). The camera on both the front and back of the phone are really high quality and we had the perfect locations to test it out for the day, starting in a private jet and then spending the day in stunning Monte Carlo.

My taxi picked me up at 6am, and dropped me off at Platinum Services in Dublin Airport, where I met the rest of the group. We had a private room to relax in before security and take off. I love travelling, but I dread the stress of security and packed airports before flying. We were brought from our lounge area, straight to a private security area (that took 5 seconds) and a bus picked us up from here and dropped us straight to the door of the jet. The whole process was absolutely seamless, and not a bit stressful – no wonder the rich and famous travel so often. I learnt in work on Friday that that pre-flight service is actually available for any flight, even if you’re only travelling an hour to London and its available for any airline. It’s €160.

We arrived at our private jet (which was the Legacy 650 executive jet with 12/13 seats) to a stunning pink-sky sunrise. As you can imagine, it was Instagram heaven haha! We boarded the jet and enjoyed our breakfast of champagne and pastries as we set off for the South of France. It was absolutely everything you’d expect a private jet to be, so fancy, so photogenic and so surreal. I’m getting excited again even thinking about it 🙂 Continue Reading…

Travel

Lisbon Travel Guide

February 17, 2017

Hi there,

It’s almost a week since I left for Lisbon and I thought it was finally time to share my top tips for visiting. I know whenever I visit a city I do my research, I scour the internet looking for the best places to eat, the most picturesque places to get a snap and the most worthwhile sightseeing to do. So I thought I would put together my own little Lisbon Travel Guide. Lisbon is definitely one of my favourite cities in Europe after our visit, it’s so stunning in the most simplest of ways. The footpaths are paved, the buildings are pastel and the sky is blue (290 days of the year!) It’s also over a third cheaper than Dublin – which makes enjoying yourself that little bit easier 😉

Where to stay:

We stayed in the gorgeous Eurostars Das Letras which was very near Principe Real the main shopping district. Lisbon is very much a walking city so I was delighted we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go.

Where to eat:

  • Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 
    This street of restaurant after restaurant is a good place to start if you’re hungry and don’t quite know what you want. As with all touristy restaurant streets, I’m not sure there is a major difference between each one, and I’m sure it’s not the finest dining in the world, but there’s lovely outdoor seating, a great selection and a good vibe. What more could you ask for?
  • Park Rooftop Bar 
    This rooftop bar on the top of a car park had been recommended to me several times before I traveled and I wish we had got the weather to go here. Unfortunately we didn’t, but I hear the view and the drinks are amazing. A must do if a nice sunset is on the cards!
  • Tagide Tapas and Wine BarTapas with a view. And wine. Literally what more could you want?
  • Sky Bar (Open from April)This gorgeous rooftop bar and restaurant we attempted to visit on Saturday night, only to find out it’s not open until April. It looks FAB though, so if you are visiting from April on, definitely add it to your list.
  • Café A Brasileira This place is very authentic Lisbon, unfortunately we didn’t make it here but I’ve heard its a lovely spot for a coffee break and to people watch.
  • Guilty by Oliver This place was just around the corner from our hotel, and where we ended up going on Saturday night when Sky Bar was closed. It was packed with young people, great music and a cool vibe. The food was delicious too. This bar was very New Yorky, a nice spot for some drinks!
  • Rua Nova do Carvalho – The “Pink Street”
    The Pink Street a.k.a. the Party Street. This street is literally pink and is where all the nightclubs and good bars are located – if you’re up for a late night, here is where you should head.

Continue Reading…

Fashion, Travel

Pretty Little Lisbon

February 14, 2017

Hey guys,

As you may know from my social media updates, I’m just back from the most amazing weekend getaway in Lisbon. It was my Christmas present from Gerard, and there’s no better present if you ask me. It’s such a beautiful city to explore, with every little street having its own story to tell.

The beautiful weather in these photographs depicts the Lisbon I imagined, however on our trip it only lasted about half an hour haha! A half an hour we thoroughly enjoyed no less 😉 I guess you take what you can get when you’re travelling from Ireland in the middle of winter. Any bit of warmth is an improvement from the bitterly cold February we are having in Ireland.  Continue Reading…

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