Deer Park , Mount Merrion - Dublin 14. Nice area to visit with the kids

Back from holidays... what can I say? Coming back is not being easy (it never is!). So now what are we going to do????

First of all, let's put on a cardigan :-), then take a map, a ball, some water bottles and go out to discover Dublin. We do not want to waste time. Some post-summer amazing places in and around Dublin are waiting out there!

Our first one:

Last weekend we visited Deer Park in Mount Merrion, Dublin 14. A very nice medium sized park located right here:

We had seen the park many times (every time we go to Dundrum town center) and we always used to say: "we have to visit this park one day; it looks very nice, and the views must be amazing". Well... we were right.

We arrived and parked beside the Mt Anville Road entrance.

First thing we liked: paved broad paths (perfect for pushing a buggy) with great views of the city. 

What the kids saw and looooved: a football pitch! Let me explain that for the last year every time we go out -anywhere- we have to take the ball with us, because playing soccer at least once or twice a day has become the first item in our to-do list no matter the place we're visiting. This park looked super promising now!

For the joggers, there is fitness equipment to work out beside the path - definitely for adults! One of the kids wanted to use one and Dad had to lift him to be able to reach the parallel bars.

We took a walk along the path for approx 10 minutes (kids playing with the ball beside us).... 

and found the lovely playground: really worth exploring!:

Seesaws, swings, slides webs... it has all of that. 

And then it has some others, not easy to identify (am I getting too old???) but you know kids: the weirder the artifact gets, the more interesting

is that a cage? tied to the ground? what is it supposed to do? never mind- the kid liked it!

After a good half an hour playing around in the playground we continued our walk up to see the whole park. Came accross ther Deer Park Tennis Club and a lot of happy kids playing Federer and Nadal and then our more than mandatory stop to play soccer in the pitch.

Believe me, if we had let the kids do what they wanted we would still be there, playing soccer, but thank God (really really: thank you God!) after 20 or 30 minutes it started raining and we had to rush back to the car.

It was already lunch time, so instead of going home, we decided to go down Mt Anville Road and try The Goat, literally 5 mins away from the park. Perfect end of a perfect morning: good lunch while we watched... yes soccer! for a good price

Herbert Park (Dublin 4) - great option to spend a lazy afternoon

Herbert Park is a gorgeous park (of course) in Dublin 4, right between US Embassy and the RDS.

We know it well, as is not far from home -close enough to get there with our bikes/scooters- so we visit it very often throughout the year. I like it very much but I have to say that during this Spring/Summer months the park is most enjoyable.

So you have kids and you have a dog....

...and you would like to be able to take them ALL for a nice walk and a lovely breakfast during those sunny Saturday mornings, full of light and full of life that we enjoy from time to time in this amazing corner of the world???

Well, I have a couple of ideas for you:

Skerries + Ardgillan Castle (North Co. Dublin)

What a lovely summer we're having!

The weather is perfect for long days out: a couple of sandwiches, lots of fresh water and a ball are all you need for the perfect day outdoors with the kids. And you do not have to go very far...

Co. Dublin has lots of beautiful places to choose from! I'm sure you know by now.

Celebrating our anniversary in St Anne´s Park (Clontarf)

Today it´s a very special day for us: exactly 6 years ago, we arrived in Dublin to start a new life. We didn't have an idea of how long we would stay or if we would like it here. Now, six years later, we feel like at home - our family has grown, and we are not planning to leave any time soon.

Rathfarnham Castle, Playground and Tea rooms

Rathfarnham Castle is a beautiful 16th century castle with a fascinating history.

The building is not very big, and neither are the gardens that surround it, but it truly is a must-see attraction.

Cabinteely Park (Dublin 18)

Among the things we absolutely love about Dublin is the number of fantastic parks and playgrounds there are everywhere inside the city, close to the city and also further away but still within the limits of Co Dublin.

The park I'm going to talk about is in Cabinteely, in Dublin South; in fact its name is Cabinteely Park (easy to remember!) and it's located just outside the city (Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown City Council).