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:

We do not have a dog, but some friends do and they bring her along from time to time when we meet for breakfast (my kids love her!). Our friends live in the South side of the county and I specially enjoy these two plans in the area:

1.- We meet in Killiney Hill Playground. A nice little playground, but quite complete, with activities for kids of different ages:

and surrounded by field, perfect to play soccer. Neither children nor dogs mind, but the views from this spot are truly amazing!

After the kids and the dog burn the excess of energy (that they always have in the mornings) we take a path to the left of the playground, walk for approx. ten minutes and we get to a cafe called "Tower Tea Rooms". 

There we sit and have coffee and a nice muffin/scone/pastry/sandwich or whatever we like, while we enjoy the usually shy sun rays. 

In the meantime, the dog is running up and down the stairs beside the cafe, or the little multiple paths nearby and the children are climbing the poor statue that silently suffers the attack of tenths of kids daily :-) 

There are always lots of dogs playing around outside the cafe, while their owners chat and have some breakfast. There is always a lovely atmosphere!

You can do the walk backwards, starting from a nice cup of fresh coffee in this cafe. In that case, you should park the car on Killiney Hill Road, at this entrance:

2.- Same starting point: Killiney Hill Playground (why change when the place is so good???). After the energy burning (important: don't rush this step or you'll regret it later :-)), go down to Dalkey village. There is a lovely little market on Saturdays, very pleasant to visit: we never buy anything but visit it every time we can.

Right in the same spot where the market place is, you will see the Tramyard Cafe, very popular on Saturday mornings, which has a big terrace:

Part of the terrace is covered when the weather is not so nice:

The menu is very good, the portions are big and the food is fresh. I specially love their soups and my youngest kid always orders Fish and Chips (adult portion which he finishes... with some effort). It is very nice to be able to enjoy breakfast/brunch in the "conservatory" with our friends' pet beside us. She behaves really well and lets them enjoy the food 

Hope you like these ideas...If you know of more pet+kids friendly cafes, please do let me know!