Flooded Venice

The program I studied abroad through, AIFS Richmond in Rome, provides all students with an excursion to Venice. Before departing, the weather prediction showed flooding throughout the city. We all prepared and bought rain boots, jackets and umbrellas. On the first night in the city, most of the students in my program were all hiding from the cold weather in a hotel room. My friends and I were curious about the flooding, so we decided to go check out Saint Mark's Square, the lowest point in the city. We took off on the drizzly, wet streets of Venice, following signs to our destination. As we neared the piazza, we walked across elevated paths, or cat-walks, that the city set up above the water. The piazza was flooded with about one foot of water, with city lights reflecting into the flood. We danced around in the water to the flood sirens that blared throughout the city and had one of the most memorable nights of our lives.