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Traveling to Italy with Kids

Wine door!
Wine door!
David and us.
David and us.
Venice sunset.
Venice sunset.

We took our 3 kids (13, 11 and 8) to Italy for 2 weeks this winter from Dec 28-Jan 11. They’ve never been outside of North America (at least since they were toddlers) so this was their first trip of this type.  It was an amazing experience with lots of interesting things to see on the way, great food, and pretty good weather (compared to where we came from). I’ll share some things we learned and suggestions if you decide you want to travel there as well. There are some links in here but they’re not specific endorsements from me and I get nothing for you clicking them, so use as you see fit.

We flew to Rome then took trains to Naples, Florence, Venice, and then back to Rome. Each of the trains was a high-speed one with FrecciaRossa and varied in length from about 1.5 to 4 hours. The trains were excellent and it was SO much better than flights for getting to/from the station, getting on/off the train, etc.

We went during the winter which meant there were no hot days but it got up to around 10-15 degrees Celcius as a high each day. Some rain off and on but mostly pretty nice. It meant you could walk around for any length of time and never get hot, like you would in the spring/summer/fall.

Here are a bunch of random suggestions and lessons learned on the trip that might be useful to you:

  • Traveling to a place like Italy in the winter is great. You don’t get the beaches and suntans, but you can still eat outside (with heaters at most spots), crowds are much smaller than during high-season (which is especially great with kids) and you can walk for hours without getting hot or needing constant water to drink.
  • Eat outside when you can! This is a big part of the experience of being in Europe for non-Europeans. It’s a great way to point out things, people, etc. going on for kids and it feels more natural to have conversations as a family. It’s a big thing, even in the winter and I was very pleasantly surprised to see how doable this is.
  • “Breakfast included” is a big deal. Most Italians just have a croissant and coffee for breakfast which doesn’t work for all kids and is pretty low on vitamins and protein. If a hotel includes breakfast, you can be sure there will be eggs, fruit, toast, cheese, meats (as well as many pastries) to eat. For kids especially, having cereal, yogurt, fruit available, can be helpful. We had breakfast included about 1/3 of our time but it was great when we had it. Next time, I would probably prioritize this higher when looking for places to stay.
  • Toilets are very hit-and-miss. Most (including the women’s toilets) don’t have toilet seats which was not fun for our daughter especially, although we still used them many times. Count on pay toilets in the train stations and similar spots (usually 1 Eur) and subpar toilets in most restaurants and other areas. Best to use the hotel ones, which are always good, and even feel free to go into the lobby of a hotel to use theirs. Especially for kids, they are very unlikely to stop you and those are always better than the restaurant ones. Bathrooms on the train are small but fine – usually better than the restaurant ones and free, unlikely the ones in the train stations.
  • Pickpocketing remains a big risk that many people brought up for us so we came prepared. Protect your phone or wallet by either using a shoulder bag (which my wife and son did) or a zipper-pocket (which I did with the pants I brought with me). These ones have a back zipper pocket but I’m sure you can get some cheaper ones too.
  • Rome:
    • Spanish steps are packed by late morning. Go at 8am and there’s essentially no one there. We had it all to ourselves and got our best pictures and views at that time.
    • “Welcome to Rome” show is a nice way to get settled and give a brief history for kids. The side shows are a bit dry for kids but the main film is about 25 minutes and went over well with the whole family.
    • The Vatican and the Colosseum are both great but quite large and can be less exciting for kids without the right tour. We used “Rome Tours with Kids” which tailored the tours to our kids ages and made both of them quite successful. Highly recommend going with tours that are small and aimed at the right age group.
    • Stadio Olimpico is great if you’re able to see a football/soccer game. We same the two Rome teams (Roma and Lazio) play each other which was especially exciting but it’s an experience to be there regardless. Buying tickets can be a bit confusing but we just used StubHub and got some really good seats the morning of the game.
  • Naples:
    • Buy a Napoli scarf (for their football/soccer team) and everyone will be your friend. You can buy them at many souvenir shops or road-side stands. Our son did this and he enjoyed all the positive comments and cheers as we walked around. A fun thing for a kid to do. Note that you can do this in Venice (Venezia), Florence (Firenze) and Rome (Roma/Lazio) as well. Rome is a bit trickier since there are supporters for both teams but people responded with good-humoured jabs if they supported the other team.
    • Naples Underground Sotteranea tour was good, but do the English one not the Italian one (like we did). Lots of talking so if you don’t understand it, the first half can be boring for the kids. They still loved going through the tight, dark tunnels though so it’s worth it regardless.
    • Pompei is huge. Well worth going but need a good guide. Suggest again “Rome Tours with Kids” (which we used multiple times) to tailor the tour to the age of your kids. You don’t need to see all of it to enjoy yourselves. Our kids loved it. The ride is ~25 minutes each way but the tour groups will help with transportation to/from your hotel if needed.
    • Do a walking tour. The old town area is great but it’s chaotic and confusing. We did a pastry tour via “WithLocals” where you walk around, learn about the area, get good advice on what to do and stop for 3 pastries and 1 gelato over the course of about 2.5 hours. This was a great way to get to know the areas that we came back to multiple times after this. There are also food and drink tours, but we did pastries, which I don’t regret.
    • Old town is chaotic but interesting. We ate at Monsu which is a basement place on a side-street.  They had great food and were never busy. Our favourite pizza was at Pizzeria Attanasio in the old town area. Try the anchovy pizza if you’re feeling adventurous.
    • New Year’s in Naples is NUTS(!) We were there at that time and fireworks are going off right in the streets from mid-afternoon on. It was loud, chaotic, but quite interesting. At midnight, it’s a 30 minute non-stop fireworks explosion so even if you’re trying to sleep everyone will wake up for at least that length of time. It can be a fun time but don’t count on getting much sleep that night and you want to navigate it carefully with kids.
  • Florence
    • One of the unique highlights for me was the “Wine door” on Osteria Belle Donne. You can just walk up, knock on the door, order wine, and they sell it to you to take away. It’s just a gimmick but I found it very satisfying and it gave the kids lots of talk about.
    • Accademia Gallery – Go straight to the room to see David first. You can go back through the musical instruments area (which was great!) and some of the others after, but the David room fills up so skip past the other parts first and go there. Book your tickets before and get there when they open at 8:15 and the room will be almost completely empty. Later in the day, it can be a 1 hour+ wait to see David, which is probably not worth it for kids. But first thing in the morning, you can walk right up and get time to look at it, take pictures, talk about it, etc. Well worth it. It’s a pretty small museum besides David so you can get through the rest in under 1.5 hours.
    • Book the Duomo climb at least a week in advance. We looked a couple of days before and there were no times left. You can still get into the cathedral for free(!) and pay to climb the tower, which is great, but the Duomo climb is the hardest to get. The cathedral has pretty bare walls (despite looking very impressive from outside) but the dome inside is very nice and so is the clock, so it’s worth a visit.
    • Look ahead for Pisa tours as well. It’s an easy 1-hour train ride each way. Again, we missed our opportunity to do the climb, so we didn’t bother going over. I think it would be a fun thing to do with kids but I remember Pisa being low on other highlights when I last visited, so without the climb, it might not be worth it.
    • Il Latini has a great “family meal” which is a multi-course meal that everyone at the table needs to go for. It’s 3 hours long but lots of nice things to try that are pretty kid-friendly, as long as they’re willing to eat steak (which is the main meal). This was our biggest, longest meal but everyone liked it. Reserve the first time slot at 7:30 and start lining up 15 minutes early. Lots of people will show up and they’re all trying to get in at the same time. Be near the front of the line if you can.
  • Venice
    • Rolling suitcases are a pain everywhere in Italy, but especially so in Venice. There are lots of bridges that have several stairs up and down and we often watched people struggling to get across the bridges. We brought backpacks for all of us and even though they were a bit heavy at times, it was much easier to get to our hotel from the train station (and back).
    • Don’t use the ATMs in Venice! The exchange rates are poor and they charge a 15%(!) surcharge on withdrawals, on top of your bank’s fees. You will likely want some cash in Euros for things like the Gondolas, so take cash out at a bank in another city (not a random ATM, but only one directly connected to a bank) before getting to Venice or bring cash with you from home. You don’t need a lot, but you’ll need some.
    • The gondola ride is 90 EUR which isn’t cheap but is a nice experience for the family. Don’t expect singing or any talking at all from the gondolier, but it’s still a nice experience. Great chance to take good photos and one of those things you’ll probably regret if you don’t do it. You can book these in advance online but it’s more expensive. Suggest you just have 90 EUR with you and go to a quieter area to catch one, instead of going to the main gondola hubs.
    • The DaVinci museum is quite fun for kids. Just reading and looking at things on the main floor but once you go upstairs you get to see and play with models of several of his inventions. Lots of interesting stuff and the ability for kids to try some of them directly. We all enjoyed this.
    • Venice water bus is a nice way to get to/from Murano which is worth a visit. The quickest route is from Pte Nueva to Murano Colonna which is only about 10 minutes. You can get on/off at other stops as well but all the other routes are longer. You can buy tickets right at the stop before getting on. It can get a bit expensive for families of 4+ but it’s cheaper than any other options. This site has the best up-to-date schedules and was very reliable for us: https://m.chebateo.it
    • If you do go to Murano, we liked the glass blowing demonstration at the Glass Cathedral (Santa Ciara) which is ~10 Eur per adult and cheaper/free for kids. Just a 5 minute walk from the water bus stop, on the other side of the bridge.

Overall, this was a great experience that our whole family enjoyed. Lots of memories and stories for them to tell. It’s getting everyone excited for our next trip which is exactly the take-away we were hoping for.

Big game at Stadio Olimpico.
Big game at Stadio Olimpico.
djphilli
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PWHL and Women’s Professional Sports

Gold medal celebration from 2010.

It’s absurd that there’s so much infrastructure for men’s sports that isn’t there today for women’s sports. For example, men’s baseball in the US and Canada has the major leagues, AAA, AA, high A, low A, etc. across various cities, states, provinces, etc. It’s similar for hockey and other sports. Being able to support that many leagues with that many players, all paid (though at widely varying rates) is quite remarkable.

Starting up a new league like the PWHL for women’s hockey is wonderful, but I can’t help but wonder how difficult it will be to put all of the infrastructure together around this. Establishing funnels for growing talent, farm teams for development/recovery/etc. on top of things like brand, TV/streaming deals, etc. It’s hard but I really hope it comes together.

It must be so difficult today for top female athletes to develop their skills and attributes (weight training, speed, etc.) when also having to hold down a job and get an education for a post-athletics life. It’s one thing to be a professional athlete who’s paid enough to focus all their energy on their sport and not worry about supporting themselves after their career. They can continue to hone their craft with few other responsibilities. It’s another challenge altogether to have “elite athletics” as an evening and weekend side-hustle.

Let’s hope the coming years and decades see a seismic shift.

djphilli
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Tips for Beaches Turks and Caicos

View from a room in Italian Village
Derek in Pirate's cove

We took our family of 5 to Beaches Turks and Caicos in February of 2023. This was our second time there and we learned a few things in our time. Sharing a few tips here for ourselves (in case we go back again) and for others (so you don’t make the same mistakes we did). In no particular order:

  • First off, wait for a deal. The regular prices are kind of silly and almost no one pays the full price. If you look ahead, you can often get deals of anywhere from 50-70% off(!) which makes it almost reasonable. If you don’t see any deal on the site directly, search around for some discount codes and you’ll usually find something that’s still valid.
  • Staying in the Italian village is ideal. The prices are better that Key West and French villages but the rooms, pool and beach access are ideal. Also a short walk to the Key West village (which has some of the better restaurants) and hosts several of the events going on during the week. We haven’t stayed in the Caribbean village yet but it seems like the facilities are quite a bit older and smaller, and generally the prices are not much better. Key West is the quietest but the prices for rooms are pretty ridiculous (even by Beaches standards).
  • Bring your own sunscreen or pick it up at the airport. The selection at the resort is very poor and quite expensive. The only place that had 50+ sunscreen when we were there was at the Caribbean gift shop. If you need more sunscreen while you’re at the resort, try this gift shop. Note that they only sell mineral sunscreen on the island, which is better for the environment but many people don’t like it. Keep in mind that sunburns are very common and you’ll see many people who look very red after the first day. Put on sunscreen and consider wearing a shirt in the pool/ocean as well.
  • Most chairs by the pool are “booked” by people very early on. If you can, go out before 6:30am with some towels and other random things to put on some chairs (e.g., some books, goggle, pool toys, etc.). Generally, no one will steal your chair if you have things on them but if you don’t show up until 7:30 or 8:00, you’ll likely find that there are very few if any chairs left.
  • Go to the waterpark in the late afternoon. The best time we’ve found is about 4:00pm-6:00pm. There are almost no waits for the slides, chairs are available and there’s some shade when you’re sitting. During the day, none of these things are true. Note that on the first day (Sunday), a lot of people arrive in the afternoon so it’s likely to be quite busy even at that time. Maybe skip the waterpark on day 1.
  • If you do go to the waterpark and can’t find a chair, we’ve had some luck setting up under one of the benches or on the stairs underneath the lazy-river bridge. It’s nice and shaded under there and most people don’t think to go over there. Not as nice as a chair, but if you show up a little later in the morning, you’ll never find one of those anyway. Take what you can get.
  • Avoid Schooner’s on the first day. It might be because of where it’s listed in the restaurant pamphlet or its location by the water but for some reason, everyone goes there on the first day (Sunday). It’s much less busy on the other days (and the food is the same) so start somewhere else.
  • The buffets are the easiest way to get take-out. It might feel weird at first, but you can just walk right in without getting a table, grab a plate, get some food and walk out with it. This allows you to get snacks in between meals, bring some food down to the pool if the kids are enjoying it there, or just grazing during the day. It took us a few days before we did this, but it became a habit after this. Especially when the lines seemed long at meal time.
  • Take advantage of some of the daily activities. We did Aquafit most days (at 10:30 I think). It’s an easy way to feel like you’re getting a bit of exercise and feel like you can have one more Pina Colada in the afternoon without worrying about it. These are actually pretty good workouts (you’ll be tired if you keep up with everything!) but there’s no shame in phoning it in on an exercise or two. You can always wander off to the swim-up bar if you’re body decides it’s in a different mood at the moment.
  • If you like to run, there’s a short 1km loop that goes down the main road, through the French and Italian quarters and loops back. It gets quite hot (and there’s not much shade) but you can easily get a few laps in before 7 or 7:30 in the morning if you don’t mind waking up early. The evenings can be okay too but you might have a lot of (slow) pedestrians to get around which can get old pretty quick.
  • Doing laundry can be a lifesaver while you’re there. If you don’t ask, you’ll likely never find the washers and dryers but you can go to the front desk and buy tokens for both. It was $4 each when we went and you can do a pretty big load of each for that price. It’s a lot nicer than having to bring more clothes with you and sometimes just washing your bathing suit(s) after a few days is a good idea. Hardly anyone uses the laundry, presumably since no one can find it, but it’s worth seeking out.
  • Finally, one of the keys to happy kids is knowing where the ice cream is. The only place to get it during the day is at Bobby Dee’s (which is otherwise worth avoiding). You can go up and get ice cream or a sundae (which is of course better, so you should always get this) at the side entrance. There’s often a line but it usually moves pretty quickly. Don’t get caught with young kids without ice cream on a hot day!

Enjoy yourself and let me know if you hear anything else worth sharing.