First (significant) Aqua Alta of the season

Here's a photo of the street in front of Ca Zenobio in Dorsoduro at about 10:30 this morning, almost an hour BEFORE peak tide.  If there was this much water way out in this section of Dorsoduro, then there most certainly was some ankle deep water in St. Mark's square.  I received notices on my phone earlier in the morning from the comune (city hall) that the water would be 105-110 cm around 11:30 am, which means the sirens did go off 3 hours before peak tide for the first time this season.

I did not hear the sirens this morning- because we had left Venice at 6:45 am on our way to the Questura in Marghera, for another session of dealing with the Italian government.  Mike's Carta di Soggiorno, the document which allows him to remain in Italy legally indefinitely because he is the spouse of an Italian citizen, needed to be renewed, which meant we needed a trip to the Questura. Even though the document is good forever, there is a little bit of fine print on there that says if you use the document for identification, it must be renewed every 5 years.  The Italian medical system requires this document for identification, so , in order to have Mike's medical card (Tessera Sanitaria) renewed, we also had to have his Carta renewed.

If you read my blog, you might be familiar by now with my being the Queen of Procrastination. And here's when procrastination comes to bite me in the rear end!  Technically we should have changed our residence with the city hall months ago, however I had had such a vicious go round with Veritas, the Water company, that I couldn't stand the thought of any more bureaucratic issues, and I let changing of the residence slide. And forgot about it. Until the end of September when it occured to me that we needed that to do these other renews that were coming due in November.  Long story short, the residence process was completed in October.  I expected the new certificates to be mailed to us, but they never came.  We had to go to the Anagrafe office yesterday to request them. This was a very simple process, for which we paid 16. 54 Euros each.

With those in hand, we had everything necessary to go to the  Questura to renew the Carta di Soggiorno. I had researched all over the internet to determine what documents were needed. All I came up with from reading 3 different sites was we needed  new photos and proof of residence.  OK, we had those things. At 6:57 we boarded the #6 vaporetto to Piazzale Roma.  At Piazzale Roma we got on the 6/ bus to Marghera. By 8:05 we were in the line-up outside the Questura. Slowly the line moved up until it was our turn.

You have to understand how the Questura operates. Here's the process. First, everyone lines up like cattle outside. Then, one by one, you tell the guard at the entrance booth what you are there for.  He does a brief review of your documents to make sure you have everything, then he hands you a number.  Then you go inside the main building. And wait. And wait. And wait until your number is called. There may be hundreds of other people in there, all waiting for their turn to give over their permesso documents, in hopes of getting approved at some point in time. It can take hours for your turn. Today at the guard desk, we were handed a yellow ticket with the number 88 on it. And the guard gave us the unfortunate news that we needed a 16.00 Euro marco bollo, which we did not know we needed, and obviously, did not have.  (A marco bollo is a little sticker you get from a Tabacci shop that is used to pay a government fee, like applying for documents)

Mike and I went into the main building, and quickly determined that # 21 was the current person being served. Hmm. We were # 88. After a very quick discussion, we both agreed  there was time enough for me to go out on the street to try to find a Tabacci shop to get this marco bollo we needed.  I marched myself back out to the main street, and turned  to my right. A short way down the street was a coffee shop. I stopped in, and inquired if there was a Tabacci nearby. The girl there said to go back in the opposite direction, there was a Tabacci not too far away.  She was right, one was about 150 meters down the street. I not only bought the marco bollo, but had a macciato and a pastry as well, then walked back to the Questura.

For an American expat, it is totally weird to be in the Questura, in this room of a few hundred other immigrants, of whom you are the only American. I've been to the Questura 3, maybe 4 times now, and every time it's the same. We are the sole Americans in the place. Just is always a weird feeling.

I was probably back inside only 10 minutes when a man came out of a doorway and called "Yellow 26".  No one responded. Then "Yellow 86".  No one responded. Then "Yellow 88".  Hey! That's us!
The guy calling numbers escorted us to a desk at the back of the room. We handed over documents one by one- Mike's original Carta di Soggiorno, the new residence certificates, his photos, the marco bollo and my Carta d'Identita (an official identification card that says I am an Italian citizen). He asked for bank statements so we could prove how we supported ourselves here. I said we didn't have that document with us.  No problem, he told me I could just write out a statement and sign it.  Done. In about 5 minutes, the whole thing was done. He stamped the top documents, and handed one over to Mike. We were told to return the first week in February to pick up the completed Carta. Yes, the stamp! You know you are in like flint when the stamp is stamped.  I wanted to jump up and do the happy dance. The stamp! Oh, thank you, God, he used the stamp!

There was one last thing. Mike had to go to another room to get fingerprints done, and we had to return a signed stamped document from the fingerprint guy back to the man we dealt with at the desk. Finished in about an hour, total.  Unbelievable. We were prepared for the worst, to be there all morning. Mike had even brought  bananas and some cookies in his backpack, and his Kindle. I had also brought something to occupy my time ( paper and pen so I could write for a few hours, figuring this would be a great time to get some words written for my NaNoWriMo novel).  We were shocked we were out of there quickly. Shocked and over joyed. We were high 5-ing each other on our way back to the bus stop. We weren't exactly done with the Questura yet, we'd have to go back in February one last time, but this was huge progress, definitely deserving a few high 5's!

We decided that since we were finished so early, we had plenty of time to go to the health department office in Dorsoduro, not far from Campo San Barnaba, to get Mike's Tessera renewed, now that we had a temporary new Carta in our hot little hands.  As the bus pulled into Piazzale Roma, it was just about 10:30 am, and it dawned on us that we most likely would hit some Aqua Alta.  Mike wanted to just go on home and leave the Tessera for tomorrow. I made a case for getting it done today. We did it today.

We experienced the first of the high water at Ca Zenobia ( see the photo above).  People walking down that side of the street were in it up to their ankle bones.  We stayed dry on the opposite side of the street. We could not avoid a teeny tiny little bit of it on the street in front of Giustinian (the medical building), but only got the soles of our shoes in it, no real problem.

We did everything we could at the medical office - they would only do one part of the process, for the actual new plastic card we would have to return again in February, with the offical new Carta in hand, then they would issue a new card. But there is another document that allows Mike to visit the dr. and get prescriptions, which they did process this morning. Also high 5 worthy.

Leaving this building, we wanted to head over to Campo Santa Margherita, but knew we'd hit high water there, so decided to stop for a bite to eat on the Zattere, then take the boat home.  We were able to sit in the sun, enjoying a perfect spot, while the water was rising in front of us.  We managed to dodge all the high water by doing some wave hopping right on the waterfront, until we had to turn and walk onto the vaporetto dock. That's where we ran into problems and could not avoid getting our shoes wet. We ALMOST did it, almost stayed completely dry!

The good news is we are done with government stuff until February. This is very good news, trust me.
What did we learn from today? Always ask first if you need a marco bollo.

A day to remember

November 4, 1966 is a day Venetians, and Venice, will never forget.  I thought I'd share this little video to give you an idea of what it was like, if you have not already seen photos from 1966.

We had a little bit of Aqua Alta today, and tomorrow the forecast is 105 centimeters.  Just a dribble compared to this day in 1966!

Not quite Aqua Alta in Venice this morning....

Normally when I post something about water in Venice, it's relating to Aqua Alta. Well, this morning I had  Aqua Alta of a different kind,  like I've not experienced before.

When I turned the water faucet on in the kitchen first thing this morning, there was very low water pressure. I thought that was odd, but got enough water to fill up the tea kettle, and went on about my morning routine. After my first cup of tea, I went to the shower. Not only was there low water pressure, there was no hot water at all. A cold shower was not what I really wanted first thing this morning.

I hopped out of that shower quickly, and went down the hall to wake Mike up. He got out of bed to see if he could figure out if there was something wrong with the caldaia (hot water heater). He couldn't find anything unusual, but he did agree with me there was something wrong. I had to get going to an appointment, so I took what my mother used to call an "Indian bath"- wash cloth and water fron the sink - very cold- and very quick. Not exactly how I wanted to start my day!

Off I went, heading towards St. Marks on the vaporetto. I was not  happy with my water situation one bit, but hopeful that whatever was going on in the apartment building with the water would be resolved before the day was over. Just as we arrived at the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop, I noticed something very unusual on the sidewalk just in front of us.  Take a look.....

My fellow vaporetto passengers were all pointing, exclaiming " Guarda  (look), a geyser!"

Sure enough, there was water spouting everywhere from a hole in the street. Police had cordoned off the area and were standing guard to prevent passerby from walking in it. Workers had begun to set up the  the platforms used for actual Aqua Alta days around the outskirts so people could bypass the mess.  Seems a water pipe had burst.  When I saw what was happening, I figured this just might explain why I didn't have hot water or much pressure for my shower.

Later in the day I saw a local newspaper article reporting the break in the pipe caused half of Venice to be without water this morning. Wasn't I lucky it was my half of Venice!

Thankfully my wish was granted, water was restored to normal by mid day. I'm calling it an Aqua Alta day. We're in Venice after all, this was water, and it was spouting pretty high.

Today's walk - Aqua Bassa

Last night as I was closing up the shutters I noticed a thick fog had rolled in around our canal. I wondered what morning would be like.  We've had an unusually mild winter so far in Venice- pretty mild temperatures, very little fog, no ice or snow yet, and only one morning of high water. Weird season, actually, but I am not complaining. I'm a summer girl.

In the morning, my first order of business was an appointment at my hairdresser's, Simone.  His salon was FREEZING this morning!!!  I had checked the weather when I got up, supposed to be 33 degrees F. At Simone's I think it was colder, and my hunch was right, he explained that his caldaia (the water heater) was not working when he arrived earlier.  Yikes! I shivered through the whole event. 

On my way home from Simone's I noticed a familiar gondola parked right in front of the Frari. Alessandro!!!  I haven't seen him since early fall. I looked around to see where he was standing, hoping it really was him today. Sometimes gondoliers who are not working will lend their boats to other gondoliers. This was clearly Sandro's gondola, but where was he?  Aha! There he was having a coffee in the window of the cafe at the foot of the bridge. When he spotted me, he waved  and motioned for me to come in. We had a coffee together and caught up a bit. I'm excited, he is going to check around to see if any of his friends will be rowing in the Volo in Silenzio on the last night of Carnevale to hopefully secure me a seat in a boat for less money than the official tickets are being sold for.  After kisses and hugs, I left Sandro to his work and I headed off to Campo Santa Margherita for a stop at my fish guys. 

I love my fish guys! While I waited a few minutes, they peeled and deveined my kilo of gambero (shrimp) for me.  Makes my life really simple come dinner time. I also stopped at the vegetable stall, then met Mike at Mood Cafe for a cup of tea and a little light lunch. By this time I was freezing. Today is the coldest day we've had so far. I checked on my iphone- the temperature was now 26 degrees F or  -3 C!!!!  It wasn't too warm inside Mood either, but better than being outside.

I had one more errand to accomplish before I could get home and warm up. Mike and I both walked together to Giustinian so I could drop off my request for prescriptions at my doctor's office.  My doctor has a new system now, which I am very grateful for. Instead of having to wait in the queue at his office each month to renew prescriptions, I can drop off a letter in his mail box, then return the next day to pick up the prescriptions. 

On our walk  home from the Dottore's office, I snapped a few photos of the unusually low water in the canals today. On a typical day at  high tide, the water level is even with the highest dark line you see on the canals. When it's low tide on a normal day, the green area on the canal wall is visible.  During this period of  very  low tide, the water is so low the last stairs are visible.

Even the algae is out of water today by several feet. Very unusual.

And the steps at my own water door (photo above) are completely out of water. This is the first time I've seen those bottom 2 steps. Fortunately, most boats are flat bottomed and don't require very much water. I can't imagine all the boats that would be run aground otherwise. Italy has had all the ship problems it can handle for one week!

Buon Natale a Tutti!

 I've been enjoying the holiday season here in Venice. Christmas in Italy isn't what we're used to in the United States. There are far fewer decorations on houses or in shops. It's definitely not the commercial event it is in America!  The main focus of the holiday is food and the company of  family and friends. Food and family is central to the Italian lifestyle, and if you can imagine, it's even more so at holiday time!

Christmas trees aren't as numerous here in Venice, although you do see one here and there lit up in a window.  As with everything else, a tree is difficult to maneuver in this city. If you are thinking about getting a live tree, it would be very very small. Not only do you have to think about getting it into your apartment, it's the getting it out after the holiday that is also a problem. For the first time in my entire life, we have an artificial tree.

Window decorations in homes are also few and far between. Wreaths on doors just don't happen here. Shops decorate their windows, but it's limited. There are a few very elaborate Nativity scenes (prescepe) set up in both Churches and shop windows.

This year the city has put up more lights in the streets than I remember ever seeing before. There are even lights at Piazzale Roma. The photo above was one of my favorite locations this year- it's over a cafe at the Accademia Bridge.

While this next link has nothing to do with Christmas lights, it does relate to Christmas!  It's a great little video of Aqua Alta here on Christmas night 2009.  Doesn't look like we'll have to worry about Aqua Alta, it's been a season of unusually low water so far this year.  While there is snow to the north of us, no snow here either.

 I couldn't resist sharing this one. Enjoy!

First Aqua Alta of the Season

Here it is- the first high water (Aqua Alta) of the season in St. Mark's square this morning. We've all been waiting for this, patiently!  The duckboards have been stacked around the city since the beginning of October in anticipation. We've had a couple of false starts- a few inches now and then right outside the main doors of the Basilica. But this morning, at 5:15 am, the sirens went off for the first time this year. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out in it!!

A blog post coincidence

Earlier today I wrote a blog about what happens when Aqua Alta gets inside your apartment.  After posting my entry, I went out walking, ended up in St. Mark' s square around 3pm, and guess what I saw?  You guessed it- Aqua Alta today just outside the church entrance.

Living with Aqua Alta

People ask me about Aqua Alta every day.

I find that my explanations of this phenomenon don't seem to do it justice. Unless you experience it yourself, you just can't get the full impact of it.  Where do I begin-- it's magical. There's nothing like it I've ever seen. The water coming up into the streets seems to draw you into it. You have this overwhelming feeling that you want to get in it. Pull off the shoes, roll  up the pants legs, and slosh through it.

But-- I've discovered there's a not-so-fun part of Aqua Alta.  Long after the water has drained back off the streets and we're all back on dry land, the damp left on the ground floor of all the houses is something we have to deal with on a day to day basis.  I'd heard the term "rising damp" used in the Cassanova movie (with Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons).  Now I know exactly what that means.

Here's a few photos of our foyer walls, and the damage done by "rising damp" after this winter's bout of Aqua Alta. There is no stopping the paint peeling off or the plaster underneath the paint just disintegrating and flaking off onto the floor.

Because we are renters, we don't do the maintenance of the walls in the foyer (ingresso, in Italian) ourselves. We contact our landlord - il Padrone- and let him know the walls are in much needed repair, yes, AGAIN.  He doesn't particularly like having to do this, but he agrees to call his handyman Daniele.  The landlord, who has very little command of English, says to me "Daniele is-a good-a boy".  (Can you just hear him saying that??).  I laugh. I've met Daniele.  Truth be told, Daniele is my age.  Daniele is a nice man. 

Daniele arrived about a week later. He rang the bell, and I went down to show him what needed to be done.  His reaction was something along these lines: " Ey-Yay-Yay!!! ".  He looked closer at the walls, then told me that what was needed was a muratore -- a professional wall guy.  I told him to just do his best. Patch up what he could and we'd be good with it, it was the landlord's problem, not mine. I just wanted the big holes fixed up.  Daniele worked for a few hours, having patched what he could. He rang the bell as he was leaving, to tell me he'd return in a week to paint. 

A week later, Daniele came as planned. The patch work has now been completed.  Grazie, Daniele. We look better, but not perfect. And we're ready for another winter of Aqua Alta. 

Yes, Daniele is-a good-a boy!  

Buon Natale....and lots of Aqua Alta

Buon Natale a tutti!! (Merry Christmas to all!). See- my Italian lessons are paying off!

This year we put up our first Christmas tree in Venice. We finally broke down and purchased a fake tree. We've always had a real tree, some years even two of them. Venice, however, is not an easy city for live trees. In fact, our Italian tutor explained to us that most of Italy uses fake trees. If you buy a live tree, you would typically plant it after the holiday in your garden. Since not too many people have gardens, there aren't many live trees. Real trees already cut don't seem to exist here at all. There are no cut Christmas tree stands on every street corner like we are used to in the US. Egg nog isn't readily available here, either, by the way!!

We contemplated finding a live tree, even a small one, however we'd have to haul it across Venice, then also deal with how to discard the tree once the holidays were over. It all seemed way too much work. So, we made our way to the Panorama in Marghera by bus, purchased an acceptable fake tree and some Italian lights to put on it, and hauled it home. Constructing the tree was a breeze; in fact, way less work than we ever expected. We actually had fun! We even hung lights on our balcony. No one decorates the houses here like we are used to in the U.S. No Santas and reindeer on the rooftops, no lights surrounding every door and window, not even wreaths on the doors. About the only exterior decoration we see is a Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) hanging outside a window or on a balcony.

Most of our friends and family in the United States are enjoying a very White Christmas after this past week's blizzard. My mom tells me more is predicted for today.

We did have some snow on Saturday (photos in my last post), about 4 inches, which lasted maybe a day on the ground. However, we've had Aqua Alta every day this week. Really high water! I wish I had photos to post, unfortunately these all occurred during the night, so the water had receeded by morning, at least in our neighborhood.

There's a siren warning system when Aqua Alta (high water) is going to happen, which gives you a bit of time to prepare. About 3 hours before peak tide, the sirens go off all over the city. There's one long loud blast, sort of like an air-raid siren, followed by a series of tones. The series of tones indicate about how high the water will be. Just the first tone indicates it will be about 6-8 inches high, on up to 4 tones, which signifies water over 140 cm (thats's about 4 1/2 feet). Every night this week the water has been between 130-144 cm high, in the lowest parts of the city, about 2 feet high back where we live in Santa Croce.

When the sirens go off, you scurry around to make sure things are elevated and won't get soaked, and also make sure you know where your boots are! We've had water come in the foyer every time, it seeps in under the front door. It takes a little getting used to, for sure.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all !!!!

365 days of Venice - sneaking a photo in

The holidays have kept me more busy than I had hoped- I find I am behind in my posts. If I don't sneak this one in here, I will really be behind on my goal of 365 photos of Venice. So- a day or so late, here's one more...

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High Water, or Aqua Alta, is when the lagoon water level is higher than the level of the land, forcing water onto the city streets ( calles ), campos and piazzas. All around Venice you will see these elevated platforms, which are laid down in preparation of high water so people can navigate around without getting wet.

If you are a tourist should you worry about Aqua Alta? No, please don't be. In fact, look forward to it. If you should happen to be in the city on a day when high water does hit, embrace it. It's something so unique to Venice, consider yourself lucky to have been there to see it for yourself!

High boots, called "Wellies" are typically available in an apartment if you have rented one there, and disposable boots are sold by street vendors on days when there is high water. You'll see all sorts of makeshift accomodations, like plastic bags over shoes. The raised platforms to walk on will keep you dry,so get out and enjoy Venice.