It’s time to say “Arrivederci” to Venice. On our last night, we went out for a nice dinner, came back to the hotel, and started packing. The television was on while we were packing. There was the usual stuff. Then there was this…
“A large storm is expected to hit Venice tomorrow. Torrential rainfall expected in low-lying areas and in Venice itself.”
Uh-Oh
We didn’t need that. Nothing to do about it, except to make sure to not pack the raincoats and the umbrella. Wait a minute… what raincoat and umbrella?
We didn’t bring any bulky raincoats to lug around, and it’s always easy to buy an umbrella if needed, so we didn’t have one of those, either. But by the time we saw the weather report, it was too late to go out and buy one.
We had a good night’s sleep, got up in the morning, and went down to have our last breakfast in the breakfast room at Hotel de Felice et des Artistes. We checked the weather outside. A mere sprinkle or two. No problem.
We’re going to board a big cruise ship and take a short cruise around the Greek Isles. (More about that later). The best way to get from the hotel to where the cruise ships dock is by water taxi, but we need to reserve one.
On our way back to the room, we stopped at the front desk to make the reservation. We made the reservation with no problem, but the water taxi wouldn’t be able to reach all the way in to the hotel, so we had to arrange a meeting point.
So far, So Good
Figuring out exactly where we were supposed to meet the water taxi was a bit challenging, but the girl at the desk was helpful. She made us a little map. In fact, she needed to go near where we were going around the same time. She’d call a friend who was a water taxi driver and she’d go with us. A win-win for her and for us.
Back at the room, we made final preparations for departure. Toothbrushes? Check. Nothing left in the closet? Check. Nothing left in the drawers? Check. Right about then there was this huge
Ka- Pow!
The heavens opened up and rain started coming down in buckets. It was “torrential”, just like the weatherman had predicted. SHEETS of water rained down.
I looked at my warm and dry Better Half. She looked at me. If she tries to go the couple of blocks to where we pick up the water taxi — assuming that we find it on the first try — she’s going to get soaked. To the bone.
Time to Get Wet
There was just enough time for me to run out, buy an umbrella, and make it back in time to leave to catch the water taxi. Off I went to find an umbrella.
In the narrow calli, people huddled under awnings, waiting for the downpour to slack up. Everyone had to be thinking, “It can’t rain THIS hard for very long.”
I was already wet, but I joined a group for a few minutes under a narrow awning. Maybe someone could tell me where to get an umbrella around here.
For a while, it seemed like the whole town had been put on hold. Everyone was hanging out under an awning, watching the torrent of rain. Occasionally some pitiful, drenched, sopping-wet person would scurry by.
Time was getting short. I decided to join the ranks of the pitiful drenched soppers and go find someplace that had umbrellas for sale.
I made my way through the calli, zigging and zagging between awnings or shelters that weren’t already full of huddled masses. Eventually I found a shop that had umbrellas. I bought two mini-umbrellas and headed back to the hotel. The rain was still coming down in buckets.
Of Course!
I made it back to where I’d been standing under the first awning. A young kid was there, selling umbrellas and doing a bang-up business. Of course he was there now. If I had waited just a little longer, he’d have come right to me, but who knew?
I made it back to the hotel with the two mini-umbrellas, soaked to the bone. My socks were wet because my shoes were full of water. I emptied out one shoe into the sink and a little fish fell out. Well, one could have fallen out.
I dried off and changed clothes quickly — it was time to go. Right about then the noise of the rain stopped. I looked out the window. The torrential downpour was over. The sun started to come out. Sigh…
To be continued…
