Review #16 - Marryatville Hotel, Adeliade Australia

Hi Everyone, here is the review for this week. Our competition searching for your best travel tips is up and running. You could win a €150 prize for Studioworks Photography in Dalkey to capture some special relaxed family shots. For details on how to win read the blog 'Studioworks Photography Competition' and for more information on Studioworks Photography check out the blog 'Studioworks Photography.' Now, on to this weeks review...

This week I was inspired by our review contribution from Liz in Nashville, Tennessee and Tara’s reviews from her travels I wanted to bring you a review from somewhere a little more exciting too. I thought back to my trip to Australia and remembered a great place that I went with my family and a load of kids. As a special treat I have also done a write up on the Adelaide Zoo, it is a wonderful Zoo to visit with your children, not as packed with tourists as the bigger capital city Zoo's and just one of many reasons Adelaide should be on your list of places to visit on your Australian holiday....

The Marryatville Hotel

A: 239 Kensington Road, Kensington, South Australia

T: +61 8 8333 2242

E: enquiries@ marryatvillehotel.com.au

W: www.marryatvillehotel.com.au

The Marryativille Hotel screams family friendly and if you want to share a great meal with excellent pub food this is the place to go. It is located about 10 minutes out of the city and has a modern bistro bar and an undercover outdoor dining area which includes a huge children’s play area.

The menu is packed with all your typical Australian Pub grub; you will find great steaks, seafood and of course my favourite the unbeatable chicken parmy! With special plastic cups decorated with Australian native animals for the kids, an extensive kids menu and an ice cream bar your children will be in heaven. They will also be exhausted and ready for naps by the time you leave. The service is genuinely friendly. All the staff were very attentive and patient. We were a large group with loads of kids and it did not faze them one bit.

If the weather is lovely as it mostly is in Adelaide sitting outside is definitely your best option. The undercover area also has heaters for when it gets a bit cool. As you sit and enjoy your meal you can watch your children dart around the huge playground, it will really tire them out. For older children there are some free video games too. I had a lovely day here with my family I hope that you do too.

High chairs - Y

Baby Changing - Y

Children’s Menu - Y

Kids Activities - Y

Read other reviews by the Yummy Mummies and the Jetsetting babies by visiting our Review Page, or if you wish to contribute a review visit our Contribution Page for more information.

Have a lovely weekend

Love the Yummy Mummies and The Jetsetting Babies

xxx

Imaginosity Children's Museum

Hi Everyone,

Firstly we would like to extend our thanks to all the mothers out there that recommended we visit Imaginosity Children's Museum with our families. We had some very fun days out there and now we want to pass it on to mothers everywhere! While the weather has been lovely lately and we have been spending most of our time out doors, this is Dublin and we all know we need something up our sleeve for those rainy days. I know where I will be the next time it clouds over and Amelie is dying to get out of the house. I really find Amelie is so much happier and most importantly sleeps so much better if she has been out and about running around and getting exhausted. Imaginosty is ideal for this full of activities and fun for children of all ages.

Imaginosity is a wonderful, non-for-profit children's 'creative space.' The museum, or more appropriately called Imaginosity is set over three floors and incorporates so many different aspects of life in to one big play area for children to get creative, use their imaginations and learn. There are so many different real life sets, complete with dress ups and props that it has almost to be seen to be believed. A supermarket, diner, building site, movie set, dolls house city and even a doctors surgery are amongst the different areas for the children to explore.

The cafe/restaurant attached is a great escape for parents to grab a quick coffee or snack while the children play. If you can eat before you go as the food was the only let down of the day. While the portions were large the food did not seem as fresh as it could be and I found my roast vegetable pannini very oily. While the portions were huge we were not overly impressed. The cakes and buns looked great though and there coffee was grand.




Imaginosity can suit babies, toddlers and children of all ages. I think my husband and I were having just as much fun as Amelie. I have been told that it can get very busy. We went mid week and while there were 80 school children booked in and tearing around while we were there the place is plenty big enough to cope with such large numbers. Tara visited with Andrew and Dylan on a Sunday afternoon and found it a really quiet time to pop in. On each floor there is a designated baby and toddler area for small children under the ages of two which the older children are not allowed to go. Amelie marvelled at the live fish swimming before her eyes, enjoyed planting vegetables in the garden and picking apples from the fruit tree. She also loved cooking up a storm in the kitchen area of one of baby and toddler areas. Tara said Dylan's favourite was the building site and he just loved playing with the bricks.

For more ideas and a listing of up and coming events for familes visit our Events Page

Visit the webiste for bookings and more information www.imaginosity.ie

Here are some phot's of us and the babies having a great  time on our visitis to imaginosity...

Review #10 - Overends Cafe, Airfield Farm, Dundrum

Hi Everyone, if you read my previous post on Airfield Farm you will know that I promised a review of Overends Cafe that is part of the beautiful house located on the farm. So here it is...

Overends Cafe

A: Airfield Farm, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dundrum, D14

T: 01 2984301

E: bookings@airfield.ie

W: www.airfield.ie

After enjoying a wonderful walk around the farm ground we approached the old house feeling very hungry. The restaurant was much larger than I had expected and for those of you familiar with Powerscourt Gardens very similar. For those of you not familiar I will elaborate. There is several large rooms with seating for groups of two to about six and a generous outdoor area for al fresco dining with large tables overlooking a very beautifully well-kept garden. As we sat in the rare Dublin sun, feeding Amelie bits off our plate and admiring the view we were perfectly relaxed.

The food is all prepared on premises fresh daily and it shows. I had a vegetable roulade which was served with three gourmet salads all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was given a large dollop of homemade pesto to go with my leafy salad and at first I was not so sure, but after identifying the 'different' flavour as lavender I liked it a lot more. I wouldn't be looking for it every time I have pesto in the future but I always appreciate the little twists and extra effort put in by a chef to give your palate something to think about.

Desserts posed a problem there were so many to chose from, all as sickly looking as the last. My husband had a generous slice of chocolate cake served with lashings of whipped cream and I gorged over a huge slice of black forest cake served with the same over the top lashings of whipped cream. Both were too large for us to finish entirely but we were not complaining. The best thing was we did another lap of the farm before leaving so I am sure the extra walking helped with all those extra calories!

A visit to Airfield Farm is a must this Spring and if you are looking for a lovely lunch Overends Cafe is, in my opinion, a great choice whether you are visiting the rest of the farm or not. There are lovely changing facilities for the babies and plenty of high chairs to go around. It gets the baby friendly tick of approval and I will be back with Amelie without a doubt.

Visit our Events Page for up and coming events at Airfield Farm or check out my previous post on the day we spent with Amelie at the farm, the new born lambs were a highlight of the day!

Baby Changing - Y

Highchairs - Y x 3

Kids Menu - N

Children's Activities - Y The Farm!

Have a great week,
Angi x

Baby and Toddler Groups

As a stay at home mother I am so lucky to have so much time to spend with my baby girl. I love to read to her, play games that help her learn, sing nursery rhymes and explore new places with her. I enjoy every second but it often occurs to me that she needs time to be social with other children around her age. Obviously she has her best pal Dylan to play with often but it is great for her to interact with other children too.

Most weeks we toddle off to two different baby and toddler mornings and tomorrow we are going to try a new one. I am looking forward to meeting up with a few mothers that I already know, meeting some new people and most of all giving Amelie a new experience with some babies her age.

I would love to hear from mothers what they are looking for in a baby and toddler groups as I have heard many different things chatting with Mums over coffee or the swings and have read so many blogs all saying they like different things each group has to offer. Comments I've heard., "too many nannies and not enough mothers", "some have too many older children that bowl the little ones over," "too many toy" or "not enough toys" and "some are over crowded"... what makes your baby and toddler group great?



When I was checking out google for the address of the group I am going to tomorrow I realised just how many different baby and toddler groups there are around the place, and of course I wanted to share these with you. Hope to see you around the place,

NAME	ADDRESS	PHONE	MEETING TIMES
Marley Toddler Group	Dublin 16	01 4945008	Thursdays 10.45am - 12pm
The Annunciation Parish Centre Parent and Toddler Group	Dublin 14	086 6050223	Monday's 10.30am - 12.30pm
Rhyme Time	Stepaside	086 3324091	Monday's 10am- 11.30am St. Thomas Mount Merrion
St Laurence's Adult & Toddler Group, Parish Centre, Stillorgan.	Dublin 14	01 2962675	Friday's at 10.30am
Parent and Toddler Group, Dundrum Library	Dundrum	01 2985000	Fridays 10.30-12.00
Parent and Toddler Group, Glencullen Library	Dublin 18	01 295 5572	Wednesdays 10.30-12.00
Parent and Toddler Group, Methodist Church, Wesley	Ballinteer	01 2956490	Tuesday 10am- 12pm
Parent and Toddler Group, Mount Merrion Community Centre	Mount Merrion	01 2836403	Tuesdays 10.30-12.00 and Wednesdays 10.30 -12pm
Parent and Toddler Group, Taney Parish Centre	Dundrum	01 298 5491	Monday and Thursday from 10am -12pm
Cuidiú ICT - Dublin South West Parent and Toddler Group, Dundrum, Methodist Church	Dublin 14	085 2773191	10am-12pm Thursday Morning
Parent and Toddler Group, Barnardos, Tivoli Tce	Dun Laoghaire	01 2842323	Fridays 10.00-12.00. Toy Library
Parent and Toddler Group, Barnardos, Loughlinstown Drive	Ballybrack	01 2820328	Thursdays 10.00-12.00
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parent and Toddler Group, Johnstown Pastoral Ctr	Killiney	01 2849455	Tuesdays 10.30-12.00
Parent and Toddler Group-Family Life Centre, St. Brighids Parish Ctr, Cabinteely	Dublin 18	01 2858835	Tuesdays 10.30-12.30
Parent and Toddler Group, St. Paul's Church Hall	Glenageary	01 2024715	Wednesdays 10.00-12.00
Dalkey Library Parent and Toddler Group	Dalkey	01 2855277	Friday's at 10.30am - 12.00pm
Squeals on Wheels Parent & Toddler Group, Dun Laoghaire Evangelical Church	Dun Laoghaire	01 284 1016	Tuesday's 10.30am
Fun Fitness Parent & Toddler Group, Total Fitness Complex	Sandyford	01 2998080	Mondays and Thursdays 10.30am - 12pm
St. Patrick's Parent and Toddler Group, Church of Ireland Hall	Dalkey	01 2300844	Tuesday's 10.30am - 12pm
Rathmicheal Parish Mother and Toddler Group, Erck Hall	Rathmichael	01 2824202	Wednesdays 10.30am -12pm
Holy Trinity Parent and Toddler Group, Holy Trinty National School	Sandyford		Wednesdays 10am - 12pm
Booterstown Parish Centre Parent and Toddler Group	Bootersown Avenue, Blackrock	01 2831593	Tuesdays
Shankill Parent and Toddler Group, St.Anne's Parish Ctr	Shankill	0872856944	Wednesdays 10.15am -11.45am
Young Mums Group	C/o Nutgrove Youth Centre, Meadow ParkAvenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16	2963810 or 0851196164	Thursdays 5pm - 7pm