59 years later

This was one of our combination Trafalgar and Princess cruise trips. Our first Venice stop was with our great tour guide Heidi, Venice was perfect; Heidi got us there after the cruise ships had left for the day and we had the city essentially to ourselves. When we came back a few weeks later during the cruise, Venice would experience the worse flood they’ve had in a decade.

Venice frequently floods when high winds push in water from the lagoon but October 18, 2018 was exceptional, with levels peaking at the highest seen since December 2008, according to statistics. The water level raised more than 5 feet – before receding. Water levels exceeded the raised walkways normally erected in flooded areas of the city, forcing their removal. Transport officials also closed the water-bus system, except to outlying islands, due to the emergency.This was one of those funny to reflect situations but there was nothing funny about it when we were stuck in the flood and almost missed the last boat going back to the ship..