View of Cerisola

Looking towards the sea

Cerisola has two Roman bridges

Their pride and joy

On our wander

Last weekend GP and I drove and hour and a half to a tiny village called Cerisola in the Maritime Alps to help a friend pick kiwi and persimmons.  Her husband's family is originally from the area and still has property and vacation homes there.  Unfortunately the decrepit great uncle who owns the fruit trees forgot to tell her that he had had them pruned way down last fall and this would be a "no fruit" year.  We took the opportunity to wander around.  The village is mostly empty now with only 80 full-time residents.  It sits on the Mediterranean side of the mountains, tucked into a crevasse shaped valley.  In the summer it's a haven for people escaping the heat on the plains as it's high and gets the sea breezes but winter must be pretty bleak.  All of the residents seem to be ancient and yet they still survive with few modern conveniences.  There are no shops, actually no businesses at all,  little TV or internet reception, and if it snows, the road in and out impassable.  They still grow much of their own food, heat with wood and make their own entertainment.  It's like stepping back in time.  We came home to a wonderful lunch cooked by C's husband and then took a long nap!
                                                                                                   xxoo me