Venice 2018: First morning in Venice

In the morning we had breakfast in the hotel lobby and then geared up before starting our first full day of sightseeing in Venice. As we stepped out onto the broad promenade that runs along the islands’ southern shore I was pleased to see that the clouds were in retreat and the sun was shining brightly on the city. The tourist horde hadn’t quite yet shown up in force but there were a lot of people moving around that morning and the crowds got thicker as we neared Piazza San Marco.

At Piazza San Marco the high tide waters were starting to flood the area but they were still very shallow at that moment and covered less than half of the square. In Venice these high tides that flood portions of the city are called “Acqua Alta” and since Piazza San Marco is the lowest part of the city it is normally the first place to flood when the water rise too high. Whenever there’s the danger of Acqua Alta the city sets up elevated platforms across Piazza San Marco so that people can cross it without getting wet.