Highlights-Chioggia (Venice)
This was the last sailing day of the cruise. The next day was debarking mayhem. There was plenty of mayhem today since we berthed in Chioggia (kee-ODD-juh) at the southern-most edge of the lagoon. Large ships cause wakes and wakes flood St Mark’s Square (like total protonic reversal, “it would be bad”). It was rainy and cold all day. We spent more time peering through fogged up water taxi windows than we did getting “At a Glance: St. Mark’s Square Glance.” The guides narrated the 90 minute boat trip to Venice, but between the guide accent, the engine noise, and passengers talking as if there were no narration, I didn’t understand much. Docking at the piers northeast of St Mark’s Square was like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” with boats fighting for pier space to unload. The only rule seemed to be that there were no rules. There *are* rules for tour groups in Venice, the biggest being single file when moving to a new area otherwise people block bridges and alleys and the Venetians (or other tour groups) can’t maneuver. Our group was terrible at keeping the line “dressed” (in single file). This was my Naval Academy close order drill training, but I wasn’t the line monitor so I kept quiet. I didn’t see much of St. Mark’s Square because I was watching the ground to keep from stepping in ponds of standing water and not get poked in the eye from the sharp tips (pointy parts at the edge of the fabric) of people carrying umbrellas. I didn’t take any pictures because a) my fingers were too cold to function, b) city pictures in a drizzle are terrible, and c) I needed to be over 7 feet tall to position my iPhone above the umbrellas (“Look kids, there’s a sea of umbrellas in Venice.”). We stopped for coffee at the third place the guide tried. Everyone in Venice wanted to be inside today. I held the glass in my hand longer than I spent drinking it to restore some functionality to my fingers. Back on the ship after supper, I did not leave my bag in the passageway for transfer to the terminal. Walking back to my room while people were putting out their bags was unsettling. I caught glimpses of people wearing strange clothes and shirtless men who should never be shirtless in public.