Chivalry, that is.
Acqua alta, like that which was driven into the city this afternoon by a strong scirocco, tends to bring it out in some people (as above).
Just a few minutes before this I'd seen a woman carrying a man, piggy-back style, across a stretch of water, but didn't have the chance to capture that instance.
Alas, the many participants in today's Venice Marathon had no choice but to simply slog through the water, as you can see below.
Seeing the image of the marathon reminds me that I have stayed in Venice for several weeks, twice, at this time of the year attending Italian classes at the Istituto Venezia. How I would love to be there now. Sorry, another tourist!
ReplyDeleteThe tourists that Venice really doesn't need any more of, Rosalind, are those masses which trudge into town for two or three hours then trudge out again. Or those who cruise in or out of the city on big ships whose smoke stacks contribute to alarmingly high levels of particulate matter in the air that we, and our children, must breathe so they can have the privilege of idly looking down on the city from behind their guard rail of within their deck chair. You need not worry.
DeleteI'm used to coping with Aqua Alta when in Venice at this time of year, even when the vaporetti stop running, with not too much fuss, mainly a matter of taking a different route from A to B, and good wellies, but it sounds as if that one was a monster! It always amazes me how swiftly everyone manages to set life back to normal though. The ones that annoy me are the people ( dare I say fellow tourists?) who act as if it's a special entertainment, splashing around and clowning. People are trying to get on with everyday life, and it's hard enough in Venice already.
ReplyDeleteHaving seen how people mug it up for selfies at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial this past August, as if those massive sober scores of funereal monuments were simply storefronts along Disneyland's "Mainstreet USA" or, worse, playground equipment made for climbing on, Ella, I can't get too worked up about those who splash in what is basically sewage water. On the contrary, in such water some folks seem to have found their proper element.
DeleteI'll think of it as them in their proper element from now on, thank you for that!! Often I'm a bit ashamed of being a human being, and hope I don't behave as daftly, ever.
ReplyDeleteGlad you all got through it, hope it all got cleared up without too much hassle.