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For parents by parents
Over the years we’ve rented quite a number of properties in Italy for family holidays and have found, to our frustration, that you sometimes don’t get information that’s crucial from the perspective of parents of young children until it’s too late. One memorable instance was a house whose garden was bounded by a sheer, unfenced precipice which had us nervously fielding our then toddler and vetoing ball-games in case her elder brother followed the ball off the edge. We have tried to think of the things parents would want to know before coming here but do feel free to contact us if there’s something you’d like clarified. The kids give their own perspective on the place in the By kids for kids page.
[Safety and security; Kiddy paraphernalia; Keeping kids entertained; Baby-sitting and going out with kids]
Safety and security
The fixtures and fittings in the Garden House (CH, wiring etc) have all been newly installed and safety-inspected.
The Garden House is approx 50m from a single-track local road which has very little traffic (we have been happy to let our kids walk and cycle along it unsupervised once they had got to grips with basic road sense). The last stretch up to the house is a gravel drive which is not used by any cars other than your own.
The pool is raised out of the ground, with decking around the pool at water level: access to this decking is fenced and secured against young children.
Direct access to the lake from the terrace where the Garden House is situated is also fenced and gated to prevent young children wandering up there unsupervised. We have not, however, put a fence around all sides of the lake. One of the pleasures of Casa Nova is the ability to wander the land without obstruction. Moreover, a fence would prevent the wildlife, for whom the lake is an important source of water, from being able to access it. (Walk around it and you’ll see the tracks of wild boar and deer around the edges.) We took the view that young children are very unlikely to wander so far from the Garden House unaccompanied, as to discover the long way round to the lake. The lake has sloping banks and it is improbable that anyone of an age to be allowed to wander the land unsupervised would fall in accidentally. At the time of writing the lake has a fallen tree in it and is rather weedy: we don’t currently recommend swimming in it (although remedying this state of affairs is on our to-do list).
We suggest that you do not allow toddlers or very young children onto the verandah without supervision, as the railing around it is formed of horizontal tensioned wires and a toddler of the sort who is hell-bent on self-destruction could in theory squeeze through, if left to their own devices out there for long enough. We doubt that any toddler could ever open the door to the verandah by themselves, so all you need do is keep it closed unless you are out there with them. We just thought you’d prefer to know. Also: a stair-gate is available should you wish to use it to cordon off a young child’s room from the stairs (but it will need to be fitted across the door to the room, rather than on the stairs themselves).
We have allowed our own children to walk unsupervised around the land since the youngest was a rather sensible 5 and his older siblings 13 and 10, taking the view they were old enough to be trusted not to get into anything more than ordinary childhood scrapes (and taking the view that the freedom to do so is precious). You’ll know your own children and have your own limits.
[Back to top; Kiddy paraphernalia; Keeping kids entertained; Baby-sitting and going out with kids]
Kiddy paraphernalia
We have a cot, travel cot, car seat, booster, microwave steriliser, rucksack for carrying 6-months-plus on walks, high chair, stair-gates (to fix over a bedroom door), potty, step up, and a generous variety of books and toys available for young children. Our library of videos and DVDs includes a wide range of films and cartoons for younger children (Teletubbies, Thomas the Tank-engine, Bagpuss and any number of Disney films, to name but a few). These can be useful for imposing a bit of quiet time. Please indicate at the time of booking the ages of any children you will be traveling with and whether you need a cot or high chair, to help us ensure that you find everything you need ready for you.
[Back to top; Safety and security; Keeping kids entertained; Baby-sitting and going out with kids]
Keeping kids entertained
It’s a truism that the key to good holidays for parents is that the kids are having a good time entertaining themselves. Here that entertainment largely comes from the sorts of things kids get up to when allowed the freedom to wander and let their imagination lead them: building dens in the woods, putting on a play at the outdoor theatre, watching the newts in the lake, trying to catch lizards, photographing wildflowers or weird mushrooms for a holiday scrapbook. If you have any of those little walkie-talkies, arming the kids with them so they can engage in lots of “Roger, over and out” from different points on the hillside is always a hit.
On a terrace above the Garden House there’s a climbing frame for younger children, with a den, swings and a slide.
At the right times of year it is possible to gather fruit and vegetables on the land (cherries, plums, strawberries, figs, pears, apples, tomatoes and an array of vegetables), and we usually have livestock (chickens, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, budgerigars) that can be visited. A short walk away (details of the route are at the house) there’s an Alpaca farm that can be visited: children can say hello to the Alpacas and Mohair goats while the adults buy hand-made sweaters and blankets made from their wool.
Activities available locally include horse-riding, golf, and water-sports at Trasimeno. See our About Umbria pages for more details.
Our older children tend to disappear on long walks and cycle-rides. We keep details of suggested routes at the house. One of the most popular involves the children cycling down into the next valley for icecream at Cose Dolci in Trestina and then being collected by their support vehicle. (There are bikes here in a range of different sizes, plus trailer and trailerbike and a 3 bike cycle rack you are welcome to borrow.) Our youngest is fond of excursions up and down the Tiber valley on the local railway line, which has a dinky little one-carriage train. This train line was also handy for allowing our teens (armed with a mobile phone in case of need) to make unaccompanied trips to Cittą di Castello, a few stops up the track, to replenish stocks of model-making materials from Emporio 45 (see Local Markets page in About Umbria). If you have the sort of older teen who needs to be allowed to spread their wings a bit, and has the energy to peddle along the valley to catch the train at Niccone, they can explore quite a bit of the Upper Tiber valley by train.
On Trasimeno, you can take a ferry over to the Isola Maggiore and explore, or hire watersports equipment. The Cittą della Domenica (tel: 075-5054941) near Perugia offers several hectares of hillside dotted with all sorts of animals and attractions such as Pinocchio’s house, with a little train to take you round it. Indoors there are miniature dodgems, a soft play area and video games. It has a slightly faded 1950s feel but our lot nevertheless enjoyed it. Parco del Sole is a safari-style park in the countryside South-East of Perugia.
We find our kids can generally be persuaded to indulge their parents in a bit of sight-seeing, or a gallery or museum, with the promise of ice-cream or pizza to follow.
The range of books, videos and DVDs available at the house covers a broad spread of ages. There are also some board games (Scrabble, Monopoly, Cluedo etc) and packs of cards. There is a basic pc (with broadband internet access networked through the house) and satellite tv (card not included).
[Back to top; Safety and security; Kiddy paraphernalia; Baby-sitting and going out with kids]
Baby-sitting and going out with kids
It is sometimes possible to organise evening babysitting so that you can go out without your kids. Ask us about this at the time of booking and we’ll do our best to organise it for you during your stay. Equally, one of the joys of Italy is how welcome children are wherever one goes. Children are not just tolerated but welcomed in restaurants and most children love Italian food so eating out together is not the trauma it can sometimes be in England. On our Where to Eat page, in About Umbria, we’ve listed a number of restaurants offering great food and lots of outdoor space for kids to play(such as La Chiusa).
[Back to top; Safety and security; Kiddy paraphernalia; Keeping kids entertained]
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