The Week in Wiltshire

Monday and Tuesday were almost identical. I would drop Dan off, shop at Tesco, bring Liliane to the kiddy pool, put the girls down for their naps, pick Dan up, and eat dinner at curry place Picklejohns.

Wednesday - We met up with the wife of Dan's friend Simon - Tina. Tina and Simon have a daughter named Mara who is Liliane's age. We met up at a giant playcenter called Kidz About and the girls spent over four hours playing in a toddler zone and in a ball pavilion.

floating balls at the playcenter

Thursday - Back to Cardiff to see more of Karin. It was great to see Karin and Jacob again! In the morning, we hung out at her house and made Rice Krispie treats. In the afternoon, we went to Cafe Junior, which is a kid-friendly place, complete with a large play area, costumes and all sort of toys. What was very good about it is that the equipment was really nice. Everything was made of wood, not plastic. You also needed to be buzzed in, and pass through a gate, so this helped prevent runaway toddlers. Cafe Junior served all sorts of high quality tea and coffee, and really nice food. I wish they had something like this in Amsterdam. That night we met Tina, Simon, and Mara for dinner at Picklejohns.

Pictures with Karin and Jacob.


Friday - Met up with Tina and Mara for a German playgroup. The City of Swindon has a facility with all sorts of rooms that groups can reserve and use. The facility's toddler playroom was great. Liliane particulary enjoyed the German foksongs that were sung. Included were coffee and tea for the parents, and treats for the kids. It was only 50p per family!

Afterwards, Mara went home for a nap. Liliane, Amelie, and I headed out to Rove's Farm, which was only about 20 minutes away near the village of Sevenhampton. It was really fantastic and I hope something like this is in the vicinity of Amsterdam. Rove's Farm had all sorts of great features. Liliane played in a sand pit and toddler play area. Next, we all went on a tractor ride, where we were recruited for the "Teddy Bear Lunch." Afterwards, we went for storytime in a loft above a giant slide in the barn. Also in the barn were a jumping castle, haybale maze, and some farm animals. Liliane dropped out of the Teddy Bear Lunch after the story. The lunch set went on to the craft room. Outside, there was another play area, more farm animals, and a willow maze. The girls and I stopped at , we met at Tina and Simon's and ended up dining with them. Apparently, after hanging out so much with Mara (who is German-English bilingual), Liliane learned a new word, "nein." Oddly, though, this is not a word that I ever heard Mara utter.