It wasn't a great
start. "No offence, but we don't want to hang around with you
guys," announced my 17-year-old son the minute we arrived at
San Agostino.
Then he and his
brother, 15, seemingly oblivious to the beauty of this Mark Warner
beach resort -with its wonderful wide visa of golden sand and
turquoise sea dotted with white sails -shut the door on their room.
And us.
How had it come
to this, my husband and I pondered as we sipped reviving drinks at
the beach cafe? How had family holidays, once so simple and
fun-packed, become so problematic? And would our teenagers ever
emerge?
It was never
going to be easy ticking everyone's boxes for our October half-term
break away. But Mark Warner seemed like a good bet. And so it was.
Over the next few days, we all slipped into an easy routine. Some
of it relaxing, with yoga beach-side and early morning strolls
through orange groves. And some of it energetic, with tennis and
water sports.
The boys had
always run a mile from any sort of organised kids' club, but they
dipped into the teenage Indy club when they felt like it, for
everything from board games to windsurfing. And it was a real
pleasure to watch them unplug their iPods, unwind and, yes, even
laugh, as pressures of their everyday life melted away. One loved
the freedom and peace of drifting towards the blue mountain
backdrop in a sea kayak. And the other was never going to be the
world's best wakeboarder but he had fun trying. In the end, too,
they often did 'hang around' with us, for the odd breakfast and
Italian meal in the lovely roof-top trattoria.
There was also a
proud family moment to savour as my husband and younger son won the
mens' doubles tennis tournament. If this holiday was to be our last
together we'd ended on a high.
Sue Gilson,
Freelance Journalist
Thiking of taking
the family away together one more time? Have a look at all the
activity holidays from Mark
Warner.