casa al mare

We had a pretty spectacular place to stay while we where in Cinque Terre, about 200 m above the sea along a rocky outcropping among the vines of local wine growers.

heading in the first day - the kids were the only ones who could keep up with Luca

We rented a small stone house perched along the terraced vineyards of the rocky slopes just south of Riggomiore.  However, the location came at a price - it was a good 30 min hike from where we could park the car to the house.

hiking through the terraced vineyards to get to the house

The kids were pretty impressed that we had only solar power in our centuries old stone house.

Supper with a view

That may not normally be much of a big deal, but when you plan on spending the day hiking, tacking on an extra hour to whatever else you do does start to wear on those among you with shorter legs.

It was a spectacular hike - past a fountain that Napolean had stopped at with his troops, along the terraced vinyards, then down the centuries old stone steps that seemingly drop right into the sea before we reached our house.

eating breakfast without a shirt - because....vacation.

"private pool"

A few times we would fill up a plastic tub for Alma (or her siblings) to cool off in - but (and this is strange for someone from the Canadian prairies) we had to run the 'cold' water from the outdoor tap - then let it cool off and even add cold water to it, as the water comes down the hill in black pipes and heats up so much by the time it gets to the house that it's actually quite hot. The outdoor shower was just 'cold' water - but the water temperature was often a bit too hot to be comfortable in late afternoon