Sundays are family day, and long lunch day. If you have children in the two-five year old range, going out for lunch on a day trip outside Rome requires a few things… a place that is safe enough for them to run around (because the goal is to get them tired out), has some entertainments (donkey, chicken, playground, other people), fresh air, a good bathroom (or other area for diaper changing). Oh, and good food and wine for the adults. Italians adore “bambini” so most restaurants will be accommodating. Here are some to try that are not only for children, but rather a place where the adults can enjoy themselves and the children will also be tired (oh, I mean entertained) out.
Cantina Osteria dell’Elefante (this place is only 30 or 40 minutes from Rome): It’s a fantastic place and they have a donkey named Arturo.
Cantina del Drago, Sutri (about an hour away): Enclosed green area, excellent staff and located in a cute little town.
Cantina del Drago in Sutri.
La Cerra (about 90 minutes away): like a hunting lodge. Has a playground.
Il Piccolo Mondo (90 minutes or so): homemade food, family feel, and with chickens to visit.
Lo Vecchio Fattoria (over two hours, almost in Umbria): an agroturismo and large wedding venue with animals and fields.
La Fiocina, near Lake Nemi (only an hour but for the traffic): one has to go down some stairs but the view over the lake is worth it. Then go to Nemi as it is gorgeous.
Lake Nemi
Ristorante L’Oasi di Vescovio (about an hour): there is a church and a large area to run around in.
Italy is famous for its agroturismo, a bed and breakfast on a farm. To qualify as an agroturismo, the farm must actually be a working farm. Many of these places will also have animals. Many are family owned. You can search this site or use other sites, like Google, to find a stay. Some of these farms have a minimum stay and during the peak summer season that may a minimum of a week. Because these farms are actually farms, often someone’s family homestead, the guest accommodations may not as fancy (or air conditioned) as at a hotel.
Wow, Sotto i Sassi, wow.
The concept of an agroturismo was started as a government scheme over 30 years ago, as a way to help the economy and tourism, which is 13 percent of Italy’s GDP. During the pandemic, I have been told, that the quality of the cleanliness has gone up at these farm stays.
Recently, I stayed at two that contrast quite a bit but seem typical of what’s out there.
One of the bedrooms in the apartment “room” that we had.
Sotto i Sassi: Located at Via Castellino 171, Guiglia. Near Modena. You can book them through the usual places like booking, airbnb, tripadvisor, etc. but my tip to you is to whatsapp him (Matteo Bizzini): +39 337 331 802. He speaks English.
The family farm is located up some narrow lanes in the countryside and you may get lost getting there. Use a GPS. And go left around the parking lot with the bench at the end of the road — the road continues to the left but, BUT, do not go up in the field. Not yet. Prepare time to find the place.
Once you get there, Matteo will greet you and help you to your room. The rooms are decorated stylishly like something out of a style magazine. There may be steps. During the pandemic, the breakfast part is a basket placed outside your room in the early morning. The onsite restaurant is not open every night but it’s an excellent restaurant with lots of outdoor (under the trees and stars) dining. The food is so good that it’s a place that people eat here for the food, even if they are not staying at the B&B. Convenient for not having to drive home after dinner, as well. Matteo takes a genuine interest in your stay with him. At dinner, he gave us a taste of his family’s balsamic.
Outdoor dining at Sotto i Sassi.
The grounds are free for walking around and there are some majestic gobstopping views. The air is clean and as it’s the countryside, you can hear the animals in the early morning. Sotto i Sassi is the kind of place that I imagined an agroturismo geared for slightly luxury customers. Lots of photogenic locations, nice bathrooms, kitchens, good food, not so fancy that one can’t figure out how to turn on the light (actually there were a lot of lighting options), but nice enough that you felt that you were staying at a deluxe farm. Some antiques and some modern design. Plus, the personal connection to Matteo, always just one whatsapp message away.
Some of the buildings are Sotto i Sassi.
Then there is the other sort of experience… The sort of experience where you feel like the hosts were gulag forced into exploiting their inheritance to keep it in their family. A place where the hosts are shackled by their amazing farmstead but can’t enjoy it because they are constantly changing sheets in the rooms. Corte Olfino was such a place. Their website makes it look cosy (I have not posted any photos here of this place — it was cute in a tired sort of way — be a bit suspicious of the website photos) and emailing with them makes it seem like they speak English. The couple who run the place look so unhappy. Well, she does. He seems oblivious to how miserable his wife is. She is harassed and stressed looking all the time. If this beautiful farm is her inheritance, I almost feel sorry for her that she can’t enjoy it.
The majority of the customers are German and they give the place a high rating. The place is interesting looking, like a small village, and the rooms are clean. But, the checkin process and accessing WIFI was difficult. I only found the WIFI code because someone left if on a scrap of paper on the table in my room. Some of the rooms are up in a tower from a fairytale and have a dungeon-like lock that makes it quite annoying when tired (mine had a modern key). The breakfast was fine and included the usual cake (yes, the Italians seem to think that tourists eat cake for breakfast), and toast, ham, eggs, and cheese (Is it this that makes them have higher ratings? The hard boiled eggs? The ham? Apparently it’s the price point and the cleanliness). Yes, they have animals including a llama, and maybe this is why people like this place. The prices were around 68 euro per room per night. So not so high. But, the overall prison feel given off by the house-poor owner made us uncomfortable. Also, the rooms had no sound insulation so one could hear everything going on in the neighboring room.
We felt no need to stay and left early. They owners did not seem surprised and did not want to know why (I paid for the whole stay even though we left early, but I wish they cared why we left early). I guess they don’t need my business. I wish them well and hope that they enjoy their farm when the cash cows are not there…
The doors at Sotti i Sassi are a photo-op waiting for you.
A word about air conditioning. A place like Sotti i Sassi doesn’t have it but even during the heatwave of the summer, the rooms cooled down by evening. Corte Olfino had AC but we also didn’t need it.
The season is over so you have six months or so to research where to stay next year.
For some it’s simply the name that makes them giggle. I was actually excited to see their blue feet. When I did see the birds, I was more delighted than I expected. They were adorable.
Our mid-luxury boat.
The Galapagos is a major tourist destination (and on many a bucket list) and I’d recommend it if you like birds and wildlife. It’s not a foodie destination. Some recommend going on a “land cruise” where one stays at a different hotel each night on a different island. I stayed on a “mid luxury” boat in a cabin with a window and private bathroom (about the size of a telephone box). It cost $1,500 for three nights and four days (first day getting there plus tortoises) and the last day seeing baby animals in the mangrove forest and then flying out by 10 a.m. With the flight from Quito (which stops in Guayaqil for an hour making the trip longer) costing about $500, you can see how much the trip cost. Also, there is a $100 and a $20 fee for the islands. But, the food is included on the boat. Tips for the crew and guide are extra.
The sea iguanas are plentiful as is their funk.
We did see lots of birds plus sea turtles, sea lions, sea iguanas, land iguanas, more birds, giant tortoises, tortoise babies (we could have done with one less tortoise siting), and eagle rays, and sharks (white tipped and the black tipped). There was snorkeling so one could swim with the sea lions and the sharks… oh, and lots of birds.
