Can any Italian come in to educate me about how to manage a family holiday in Italy please?

[Rekka]

We are in Day 4 based in Veneto region. The feeling so far tells me there must be some basic way of living we failed to grasp.

We travelled to France extensively in summer and in Spain some other years. Never had massive miscalculation like how we had in the past few days.

Activities for kids:
DH is working in the day at the holiday house this week. So until he's off next week, I tried to take DCs out but not going out more than 30 mins drive radius (we are not close to beach). Usually in France, we were always able to find activities or a decent size park where something going on for kids. I managed two weeks in Southern France and barely ran out of things to plan for them in the day.

While this week, I couldn't find any decent places operating during the day time to allow kids play/engaged in activities. It seems a lot of places aimed at children are not open until Friday afternoon through the weekend only. Some others only open from 5pm onwards. I'm thinking it might be because of the heat in the day and the cost of running air con is too high? But surely the Italian children need something to keep occupied during school holidays? What did I miss here?

Lunch for being out-and-about:
Usually in our summer holiday, we were always able to find decent sandwiches in local bakeries or even just some simple food in supermarket. We tried to get some readily made bite-size pizza, packed sandwiches and sandwich rolls. The kids hated them and I had to convince them it's not that bad whilst I could barely finish them myself - the flavour is strange and the bread was soggy. Looking around, there doesn't seem to be a wide ranges of choices for sandwiches or we just missed it? What do Italian family take as lunch for picnic?

Air Con:
There's a law passed 2 years ago forbidding any indoor household keep room temperature lower than 27C. But the flat we are staying is fair size. There are two air cons in the flat but they are set (password controlled by the owner) so that we struggle to keep the room cool enough to allow the kids to fall asleep. Is this a norm now in Italy?

Forgot to mention, having a nice cafe to sit down with some cakes/snacks/pastries to relax in any of the low-key touristic places seems not a thing. Occasionally, there might be a small cafe just sells ice creams/coffee. In-house restaurants certainly aren't a norm. So you need to bring your own snack/lunch.

At least, this was our experience in the few low-key places - can't say for the major big touristic attractions.

Where in Veneto are you?
We had no problems getting bread/cheese/salami/tomatoes etc to make lunches, can’t you rustle some up to take with you? Along with some fruit, water etc.

I've done loads of trips and never had an issue, good food is everywhere in the bits of the Veneto I've been to.

Bars tend to have sandwiches and other pastries, I've never got one from a supermarket but I have bought the ingredients there. Pizza bought by the slice.

Ready made packed sandwiches are not overly popular here, or any ready made food really. I've seen a few packs of sandwiches in the supermarket but would never dream of buying them, nor would anyone I know tbh. All Italian food is made from scratch at home but I appreciate you're not at home!

Most bars do basic panini that are usually ok, usually flavours like ham & mozzarella or tuna & mozzarella. We're not huge on picnics, more likely to have a BBQ but if we do, I make panini here with ham & cheese, take slices of ham & melon and a cold rice salad. You should go to a bakery for small pizzas (pizzette) and decent bread rolls ( general word for these is panini) & then get filling from supermarket. Most of us buy bread daily in the bakery rather than the supermarket. If there's a deli (Gastromonia) around, they do good ready made food. The idea of just a sandwich for lunch isn't a big thing here, most Italians have their main meal of the day at lunch time, most trattorias do a fixed lunch time menu low price.

For pastries with a sit down you'd need really to go to a Pasticceria with tables, they are not really a bar thing. Bars are for coffee, booze and v basic panini & ice cream, most have a few pastries or croissants left over from breakfast time, which is when they are usually eaten.

All children I know are in summer camp now from 8am to around 5/6pm in the afternoon while parents work, or they are already at the beach. Schools have been closed since June so the kids will have been enrolled in full time the summer camp, that's why there are not many activities going on, plus it's August and literally everything stops from now for the month.

Aircon, where I am it's 36 outside & very humid, but ours is set at 28 in the day and 29 at night anything lower would be too cold. I don't think many observe the 27°C law tbh, but Italians hate cold with a passion. Our summers are very hot so we would consider 20 for example to be cold, I'd need a jumper in that weather!

sorry typo 'Gastronomia' is the word for deli!

Not been to Veneto and can't offer much in the way of practical advice but I do sympathise having holidayed in Italy a lot with young kids. The Italians' genuine love of children just does not translate into providing the same family facilities and services that we tend to take for granted in the UK - from highchairs to kid-friendly museums. I stayed in central Florence with a 2 year old for a week and the only place to buy milk/bread was from the cafes in the square and never take a toddler into the Uffizi - it's definitely a very different vibe to the Tate Modern!

Opening times and services can be rigid. They don't have the same customer centred supermarket / corner shop culture as the UK. Plus it's August and a lot is closed. As the PP notes above people in Italy make their own food, family meals are paramount - so there just isn't the same open all hours cafe vibe.

To be clear, i love italy and italians - this is not a universal observation or a criticism - and we've had some of the most magical family holidays there (DS learned to ride a bike in the Tuscan hills) but you do have to lower your expectations of convenience and make sure your accommodation has entertainment on site. Have you got a car?

Unfortunately, August is the wrong time to visit Italy, pretty much everything shuts down for the month, which is why most places are closed completely or only open on very restricted hours.

In terms of food, Italians don't really "do" pre-prepared sandwiches in the same way we do, everything is bought fresh from cafes or bars. You should be able to find a pizzeria or paninotecha for takeaway savoury food, or a pasticceria for cakes and sweets. Panetteria will sell fresh bread etc. in the mornings which you could buy and make your own sandwiches with.

In all my years of visiting Italy, I've never struggled to buy food out and about, there are always loads of places but they're more takeaways over lunch and you eat in the local square or park rather than "in house" so to speak.

I've holidayed close to the Venetian region (in Lombardy) and don't recognise what you're describing.

Parks, swimming pools (outdoor), bakeries, little cafe, etc. Loads to do and easy to find places to eat. Bigger restaurants may not be open during the day but the bakeries, cafes, and supermarkets are. Depending where you are in the region you'd find plenty within the distance you described by Garda. You could get train to Brescia (but it is a bit further at 45 mins) for somewhere different.

Florence was one of the best places I've visited with children. Straight to the front of the queue with a baby. Lots of friendly faces enjoying my games of spot saint X in paintings with my very young child. Kindness on pub,if transport (letting my small child sit down).

Customer service can seem brusque compared to Spain or the UK but is similar to France.

In Italy I've always stocked up on bread/cheeses/deli meats/tomatoes and had one picky meal at home/packed my own lunch and then one meal out. When you eat out it is slow, to be enjoyed, sit and chat, rest between courses etc. Dinner can take hours. For kids not used to that, particularly if they're tired and hungry, it can be tough in the evenings and get very late for them - probably better to do at lunchtime and also gets them out of the heat of the day for a bit.

Coffee culture is different. Morning is a longer coffee and pastry, but during the day it's generally either espresso bar culture where you order it, down it at the bar and leave, or you go to a place which has longer coffees and gelato and sit down.

For cooling down room at night, best thing we've found was a bowl of ice in front of a rotating fan. Keep blinds/shutters closed during the day to keep as much of the heat as possible out of the bedroom.

Thank you so much , @twilighteaser . These explained everything. I wish I knew upfront and be better prepared.

I don't mind making own lunch, but the thought of food stays in room temperature of above 30C makes me uncomfortable. We have a car, but I don't have the courage to drive here. That limits how I can move around with the kids.

I didn't think about the point about temperature tolerance relatively to the locals and to us. 😁 Of course, 27c is probably a breezy environment for the locals, but not to us. We can manage. Good to know!

@sunsetsandboardwalks @Catopia , thank you! Very helpful advices! I hope we can navigate better from now on with the background information in mind.

Italians are on holiday in August. Unlike in the UK where practically everything will still be open, this often means stuff is just shut for two weeks.

My major learning from Italian holidays is you need to work on Italian time. Lots of things are going to be shut in the middle of the day when it is too hot. If you look around some towns at midday they can be completed deserted - except for mad dogs and Englishmen.

It is completely normal for people to be going out to eat at 9pm with very young kids when in the UK this would be past bedtime.

The only place this doesn't apply is Venice as so few people live there and staff want to get home to Mestre.

Finally the driving isn't that bad as long as you aren't in a city centre. You will have a lot more fun if you can go places.

Finally the driving isn't that bad as long as you aren't in a city centre. You will have a lot more fun if you can go places. Totally agree with this. The Italian reputation for crazy driving is wildly exaggerated IMO. As long as you're not in rush hour Palermo or Naples, you'll be fine.

Most of the vehicles don't observed the legal speed limits at 50, 70, 90 or motorway. They are constantly well above the legal limits unless there's a camera around.

People get impatient easily when you drive just under speed limit and the way they overtook was shocking sometimes (absolutely mental in a few occasions!)

NOBODY signals at junctions.

I don't fancy to try to adapt for these few weeks...

We made the same mistake OP several years ago in August….we just abandoned the boiling hot house, with the freezing pool and went to France.

I love driving in Italy but I do it daily so I'm used to it. The idea is to keep the traffic flowing as much as possible and that often involves exceeding the speed limit so most police turn a blind eye. You'll also see traffic split into two lanes where there's only supposed to be one, this is to avoid a traffic jam and to keep the traffic flowing, so if someone is going slow and causing a traffic jam, drivers will get impatient. You're right about the lack of indicating and crazy dangerous overtaking though, it still gets to me every time.

Luckily we don't have aggressive road rage that exists in the UK which had made me too scared to drive there ever again. I over took a parked car while driving a Fiat 500, so a very small car. There was a lot of space, a bus or truck could have easily overtaken it, but the man driving a van in the opposite way didn't agree, he stopped and started to shout at me! I have never been so scared or astonished in my life. A man verbally abusing me for really no reason with absolutely no respect for his fellow human. I've never seen that in here in Italy, it's just a bit of peeping and the odd wildered look with a 'what the heck are you doing' closed fingers hand gesture!

But if you do try to adapt you’ll have a much better time as you can go further afield.

A cool bag with ice blocks will keep picnics cool - a supermarket will sell them.

The trains in Italy are fab if you’re near to a station or if your partner could drop you off. We used Florence as a base and went on a lot of day trips. This maybe helps with lack of kids facilities?

These are very objective observations, @twilighteaser . DH is in complete agreement with you. He actually yesterday said he thinks it's safer driving here than back at home in England, no aggressive behaviours like you described. I'm sorry that you experienced it.

Unfortunately, there is quite a male alpha culture in the UK. It took me a while to get used to it. But never felt as safe as in the continent, as arguments in a street could end up much worse than just verbal arguments.

Thanks for taking time to explain. I have a better understanding now!

Just two more questions, purely out of curiosity.

Do kids sleep very little here or they still have noontime naps? (Presumably they go to bed after 10pm on a daily basis).

What do people prepare for dinner when it's so hot everywhere - thank goodness, DH doesn't mind sorting out dinner in the baking kitchen in the evening when we got back!

Shame on me. Got used to the comfort of using a car with little to carry about and no moaning kids... Definitely it's one thing we need to "grow out of" when they get older!

We usually freeze big bottles of water /juice over night in freezer and put in the cool bag serving as coolers and can drink them cold once starting to melt. Serve as a treat 😁

Yep, when we first started taking our son to Italy we were surprised that the ‘entertainment’ for kids was weekends and evenings only. But most kids do summer camps, are on holiday, or are cared for by grandparents so it’s not quite the same as in the UK.

Many deli type places will rustle you up a sandwich of your choosing (some variation of ham and cheese most likely).

The supermarket deli counter stuff will be variable - Italy does a weird selection of ‘aperitivo snacks’ to be enjoyed with an aperol spritz but I find them to be quite heavy. Packaged sandwiches (tramezzini) are grim wherever you go tbh and you need to go for something freshly made - possibly by yourselves.

The a/c being on 27 will be a cost thing as well as a legal thing. Many visitors whack it down to 16 and I think it really overworks the system. You should absolutely speak to the owners or agency if you are uncomfortably hot, it might be that the system needs servicing or checking. You’re paying for a service and if the a/c is not even remotely doing its job you need to raise that with them. It’s not a standard thing to not be able to adjust it.

Are there fans? Are you keeping the sunny side’s windows and shutters closed in the day and opening everything at night?

Italy isn’t always the easy ride that people assume and supermarkets and shops do close, sometimes totally, so the owners (families, not companies) can take holidays. Google maps is your friend before heading out.

@Rekka
Q: Do kids sleep very little here or they still have noontime naps? (Presumably they go to bed after 10pm on a daily basis).

A: I think kids do sleep less than their British counterparts yes. But especially now it's hot we have long afternoon naps after lunch, adults do it too, the night time is when it's only cool enough to be outside to get some air. In fact in you'll notice the post lunch silence in the afternoon! Only people who don't do it are workers who can't, I get an hour lunch break, so no naps. The concept of time is different here, if you put in your mind that 5-6pm is still considered afternoon, so treat those hours like you would 3-4pm UK time, you wouldn't be eating then and so to be out at 10pm isn't that late. It's very hot so take the daytime slowly, use the cooler evenings as your time to do stuff.

Q: What do people prepare for dinner when it's so hot everywhere - thank goodness, DH doesn't mind sorting out dinner in the baking kitchen in the evening when we got back!

A. I don't use my oven at all in the summer months, just makes our house far too hot. In the last few weeks we've been eating pasta with homemade pesto or with with raw tomatoes. ( pretty much this reciepe https://www.allrecipes.com/my-italian-grandmas-famous-no-cook-pasta-sauce-7554445) also been eating buffet food such as melon and crudo ham, salame, chunks of parmesan or grana, bufalo mozzarella, bruschetta, prawn cocktail, figs with crudo ham, cold rice salad with peppers, cubes of ham, mozzarella tomatoes in it. Lots of salads and lots fruit of too, peaches right now are soo good!

On the gas stove I've cooked the occasional burger and sausage, but also sword fish steaks, tuna steaks chicken and steak, always just served with olive oil and lemon dressing and a side salad.

Jamie Oliver does a good grilled swordfish and we use his Salsa di Giovanna on lots of meat & fish https://thevirginstove.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/pesce-spada-alla-griglia-con-la-salsa-di-giovanna/

My family eat out most weekend lunchtimes and then after a long 3 hour lunch rest until maybe 5 or 6pm, then around 8pm eat some of the buffet style food I mentioned.

@Rekka btw did you look for any open air pools around you, they'll be open daily now for sure!

Yes we operate on a different time line here! Embrace it, it's great. My toddlers wake up at 10am in the school holidays.... no parents here that I know are struggling with the 5am club haha