A typical November day in Venice

I thought I'd share with you a little bit of a typical November day in one of the world's most beautiful cities.

November is the month when we're most likely to get high water. Everyone's heard lots about Venice's Acqua Alta, right?  Here's a photo to help remind you (not taken today, obviously, they are not bundled up in coats carrying umbrellas. It's pouring rain here today too.)

For the last few days, we locals have been receiving email messages and texts from the comune (city hall) alerting us to the forecasted height of high water. It's been a code Orange the last 24 hours, with 125 cm of high water predicted for 11:00 am today.  At the lowest point in the city, St. Mark's square, that means the water would be about at the top of my boots, which are almost knee level on me.

Here's the latest bulletin from city hall, sent this morning.  You can see we're in for a little more aqua alta both tomorrow and the next day. Bulletins such as this have become a normal part of my life in this time of the year, in fact, they have been hitting my inbox once every couple hours in the last 24 hours.


                                      

Another part of our normal existence here in Venice through the winter months is the sound of the Aqua Alta sirens.  This morning, we heard 3 tones, alerting us the water would be around 130 cm. In the video below it is the highest alert, 4 tones. The video is from a day not quite a year ago.  Just wanted you all to have a taste of what we live with.

Hope everyone stays dry today!

It's Acqua Alta time, it's Acqua Alta time.....

Just last week I noticed that the walkways (passerelle) had been brought out of storage and placed strategically around the city, in anticipation of the first Acqua Alta (high water) of the season.

I just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow and guess what!!  Tonight around 12:30 am and again tomorrow around 12:30 pm we're going to get to use those platforms.  Although the forecast is only predicting 105 cm in Venice which means it will only be in the lower areas of the city, it will certainly be in St. Mark's square and Rialto.  Get the boots out everyone!  Happy Acqua Alta season to all!

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.

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!!

Life in Venice - Aqua Alta on November 1

Yesterday at about 9am we heard a loud siren. At the first blast, I knew right away what it was.. the signal that high water was coming. I listened for more... there were 3 additional blasts... 4 in all. From what I had read, that meant significantly high water.

Oh boy.... we'd been coming to Venice for 6 years now, and had never heard the sirens. How exciting!! We quickly made plans to go to St. Mark's Square to see what it would be like. Unfortunately, neither of us had anything we could wear on our feet that would handle water higher than in inch or two. I had snow boots, however, they had zippers up the side, and water would slosh right in, I thought. Our first mission was go out and find Wellingtons!

There's a little shop not far from our apartment that sells them, so Mike ran over. They were closed for All Saint's Day ( Nov 1). Next stop was Campo Santa Margharita to see if any shops there had boots. Mike came home with a pair of green Wellingtons, for 17 Euros, and the news that the calle between San Barnaba and Santa Margharita was flooded. Also, he suggested I get Wellingtons as well. We both got ready, grabbed our cameras, and headed to San Barnaba.

By the time I got to the boot shop, the women who run it had figured out they had a little bonanza going on and raised the prices to 25 Euros. There were no green Wellingtons left in my size, nor any black ones, so here is what I came away with. Now I was all ready!!! ( I love them, btw!)

Water was definitely up in San Barnaba, but we were anxious to see what was going on in St. Mark's Square. It's the lowest point in the city, so usually gets the highest water.
As we entered San Marco from the molo, the water was up over the edge of the canal. We couldn't wait to see what was going on just around the corner!

The duckboards were set up just as you enter St. Mark's and snaked around through the Piazza. Here the water was about 2 inches above my ankles. With boots on, I waded right in.

A little water doesn't stop anyone here...... there's always time to stop at one of the cafe's in the square to enjoy people watching!!!

And here's a couple who found a way to traverse the high water!



Mike's new Wellingtons getting their first workout!

In the center of the square, the water was much higher... about 8-10 inches! All of the street vendors were selling these plastic boots in assorted bright colors. Here's a blue family!!! What a sight! All over town we saw remnants of these boots in trash bins as the water began to receed.



And this man gets my award for most creative solution of the day... multi colored plastic bags duct taped around his ankles! Perfetto!!

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...

.

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.