The countdown is on… Summer is nearly upon us. There have been so many exciting things happening over the past few weeks including a trip to Buckingham Palace and my special order Hermes!
Last month I also headed off to St Tropez for the weekend for our annual girls trip. I adore the charm and glamour of the French Riviera. We decided on booking Château de la Messardière which is part of the Airelles collection. One of the girls had only just come back from there last September but was very keen to visit again, now I see why!
It is honestly one of the most exquisite hotels I have ever stayed at. The hotel holds 99 rooms and suites inside the Château with the most elegant muted décor nestled amongst the surrounding manicured gardens which feels very Provencal. The rooms are both relaxed and chic with a fully stocked minibar might I add! We had such a warm welcome with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot perfectly chilled in our room, a beautiful cake and a bowl of perfectly ripe, sweet strawberries. There was also a set of pyjamas to take home, a his and hers hat, vanity pouch, towel and reusable water bottle. At this point I was regretting only bringing a small suitcase.
There were so many other thoughtful perks. First and foremost the hotel shuttle to take you into town and to the beach (also free of charge) was a Rolls Royce Cullinans. This is obviously subject to availability but going outside of season has its perks. When departing the hotel we were given a whole box of L’aduree macaroons each. My plan was to save them for the kids but I figured they would be wasted so I consumed most of them as I felt sorry for myself being a little hungover with a 1.5 hour journey back to Nice airport.
LONDON BOUND
After spending some time with the girls, I was looking forward to some quality time with hubby. We had date night coming up and this time it was something a little different. We had tickets for a private tour of Buckingham Palace. We got exclusive access to the State rooms and ballroom with a very informative guide. It is something that I highly recommend. The gift shop was great too, it had a fab selection of Christmas ornaments (who doesn’t want a Royal crown decoration for their tree?!) it even had a corgi toy selection! You can book tickets through the Royal Collection Trust website but be quick as they sell out fast. Of course, we had to follow it with some delicious food so we headed over to Zuma for a lychee martini and tasty nibbles. As it was early in the evening, we requested to sit at the chef’s bar for a more informal vibe. My favourite is always the salmon and tuna tartare with Oscietra Caviar and crispy lotus chips.
HERMES SPECIAL ORDER
The week before our date night, I received an email that I had been waiting for, for one and a half years. Finally, my Hermes special order bag had arrived! If you have been following me for a while you will know that last January I placed a special order bag. I have explained the process in my previous column but I will recap.Even if you are a Hermes connoisseur or not, it is intriguing to hear about the process.
A special order is where the customer is allowed to select certain options such as particular seasonal colours and certain sized bags. That bag is then made especially for that customer based on those specifications. I believe that each sales associate (SA) can choose one person twice a year so I feel very privileged to be offered.
