In London, we chose indoor acitivities during many months of the year to escape the rain. Here in Atlanta, we are trying to seek refuge from the heat.
There was a time when we went to Gymboree in the Whiteley’s shopping center every other day (we breathed a big sigh of relief when our daughter got sick of it. There are only so many plush blocks you can climb on before you start to go a little stir crazy). And we visited the kids’ area of the Science Museum about once a month.
Unlike Gymboree, it was free (Gymboree is anything but free — on average, about 15 pounds a pop). But visiting with a crawling toddler involved keeping them safe from throngs of tourists’ and bigger kids’ feet.
It’s geared more towards the over-5 set, with shape puzzles, a light and music chamber, and dress up clothes. And if you get there much later than 10 AM on a weekend — especially a rainy day — it’s absolutely mobbed.
Here, people seem to stay in their houses when the weather’s unpleasant. Everyone seems to have a massive playroom that they bring the kids to when they don’t feel like heading out.
I only knew one person in London with a dedicated playroom, and they lived outside of Zone 2. In Central London, it was tough to find the space for an extra bedroom — let alone a playroom.
The best option, I think, would be to have a playroom, with the option of a place like the Science Museum. I miss the different accents we would hear there, and the off the wall exhibits (an insight into Iceland’s hot water springs, pre-financial crisis…a history of aviation…a green city tour….) that we could see while the kids slept in the stroller.
I even miss the game of dodging the other visitors’ feet.
Reverse Culture Shock 