Something about these photos makes me think of "March of the Penquins." :)
All of that scaffolding on the left-hand side of the photo below is the restoration work on the campanile (bell tower) that I blogged about earlier this year (they are putting titanium belts underground to stabilize the foundations of the tower). I have a feeling that the floods might have delayed the progress - the water was even deeper inside the work site than it was in the Piazza.
Here's another one of the Basilica from outside:
Venice Daily Photo has a video that shows the seagulls floating around in the piazza "lake" on the day after I left Venice.
My mom looked at all my acqua alta photos and said, "It looks miserable!" It really wasn't. I would have been unhappy if I'd been trapped in my hotel room like the folks who were there on December 1, but I was able to get out and about. But after a few days of this "minor" flooding, I started to feel like I was on a camping trip instead of in a European city. The flooding itself wasn't that hard to deal with but when it rained on top of it, well I got a little tired of being wet! At least it wasn't brutally cold too.
Most tourists seemed to be enjoying the unusual experience while the Venetians were business as usual, going about their lives with their boots on and their flood barriers in place. I did feel bad for the elderly citizens though - one afternoon I saw a couple of ladies walking very slowly with canes, trying to navigate through a partially flooded street. Then they arrived at a doctor's office which had a metal flood gate across the door, and the nurses came to help these ladies climb over it. It can't be easy on them.
Comments (7)
Hi Annie, wow these are some incredible photos. It got pretty deep in the Piazza since it is almost at the top of the boards. Incredible images.
I feel bad for the residents with mobility issues too. It must be challenging for them when acqua alta occurs.
Thanks for posting these photos. Have a great day Annie!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | December 23, 2008 9:05 AM
Posted on December 23, 2008 09:05
On the bright side, it's nice to see the Piazza without long lineups and throngs of people! But the rain can get pretty monotonous. The last time I visited Venice, 3 years ago, there was quite a bit of flooding and lots of rain. I didn't have boots (it was very early October and the high water was unexpected) so the weather ground me down after a few days. It did feel a bit like a camping trip!
I'm tall but I still found it hard to sramble on and off the boards -- they must be close to 3 feet off the ground! I wonder how older folks manage to use them? Many must just avoid places where the water is deep enough that the boards are set out.
Posted by sandrac | December 23, 2008 12:22 PM
Posted on December 23, 2008 12:22
Kathy, I agree with you. Venice can be challenging even for someone young, with all the bridges and stairs and uneven pavement that gets slick when it's wet. I read an article that said that on Dec. 1, some of those boards just got washed away!
Sandra, yes it was very uncrowded, which is definitely in the plus column for traveling there in winter. And I agree with you about the boards! I don't feel very stable on them, maybe because there's so little flat ground in Venice and every board seems to rock a little bit! And they ARE hard to climb on and off of. I tried to avoid them as much as possible.
Posted by Annie | December 23, 2008 2:30 PM
Posted on December 23, 2008 14:30
The third photo definitely looks like the March of the Penguins (although really the March of the Humans :)
I love seeing all the photos. I thought about the difficulty getting around in Venice for those with mobility issues in the summer. The acqua alta sure does pose additional problems.
Thanks for the link to Venice Daily Photo. I keep forgetting it is active again. I loved the previous post, Aqua Altissima!
Happy Christmas :)
Posted by girasoli | December 24, 2008 1:30 AM
Posted on December 24, 2008 01:30
Your photos are fabulous! I don't think I would enjoy Venice during acqua alta. I definitely would not use the boards; I'm short and I think I'd have a hard time getting on and off. Plus I'd be afraid to fall off the board or over into a canal while walking along them.
I wonder how dogs and cats manage during the flood.
Happy Holidays, Annie!
Posted by María I. | December 24, 2008 11:08 AM
Posted on December 24, 2008 11:08
Girasoli, I was glad to see Venice Daily Photo active again too. It's one of my favorite Venice sites.
Maria, I wondered about the pets too. I guess people take them out during low tide? Happy holidays to you also!
Posted by Annie | December 26, 2008 10:51 AM
Posted on December 26, 2008 10:51
I must check out the daily photo site as well, thanks for the tip that it's back! These photos are so cool.
Ooops, gotta go, there's claw poking at me from somewhere below, apparently Winston wants my attention!
Posted by Anne | December 27, 2008 6:49 AM
Posted on December 27, 2008 06:49