What can parents do when the children have flown the nest and the family holiday is no more? When our brood took off two years ago, my wife and I decided to spend our holidays tasting wine. We needed someone to drive us from vineyard to vineyard, so last year we signed up for a guided tour.

This year, we made our own arrangements, and were rewarded with far more holiday for our buck. The first was a four-day opera and wine trip to Verona – organised by Arblaster & Clarke, a specialist in the field. It began inauspiciously with a flight from London that required an early start, and the 25-strong party were looking groggy when we arrived in Verona at midday.