Lets continue to talk about cruising. It looks like cruises will be shut down for many more months according to the CDC. There are so many places that you can visit on a cruise ship — and many of those are around Europe given all the coast lines.
Then, I just realized I had never blogged about Venice Italy even though I had been here so many times….My first time was on a cruise…not a luxury cruise, but on an aircraft carrier when we were deployed in the Adriatic Sea during the 1995 conflict in Yugoslavia.
Of course, everyone has to visit San Marco Square. It is ALWAYS full of people for hundreds of years. It was full 25 years ago after serving the Persian Gulf and full when I visited on a cruise 15 years ago.
What does it look like today in the beautiful spring due to COVID-19? Maybe one person.
Now, lets go back to the good times. It was amazing to experience first how many things did not change in 20 years outside of converting from the lira to the euro.
Venice is a wonderful place to walk around all day with many historic architecture and scenery. Myself I love walking, and I have never tried the gondolas. Even back in 1992, they wanted $45 a person for a ride (if I remember correctly). 10+ years later, they wanted $90 a person for a ride. Yes, I know the wood is specially made and the boats carefully crafted, but that is an outrageous price.
Yes, the water is dirty and the summer months are not the best time to visit. The canals can smell very very bad. That is why some people like visiting in the winter months.
Looking at the webcams today, it is interesting to see now how clean the water is without all the tourists and boats cruising the canals all day long…
Check out the satellite views of the canals from an article on CNN.
I am not sure if this is highlight of Venice, but the pigeons are everywhere and they swarm quickly. It feels like millions and they will cover your entire body and if you fall down in a pile of corn, you will be covered like in a zombie horror movie. Watch out!
How are they survive today without all the tourists today? Have they all departed?
Lets all be hopeful that cruises and travel will recover by the end of 2020 and people can have the opportunity to visit places like Torre dell’Orologio (the famous clock) in Venice when they take cruises and travel the world.
Venice is a place that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime and I have to admit I would like to do it again someday on another European cruise. I just don’t the risk of an infection this year as we get older and the risks are higher!
Here are some past cruises which have been an annual highlight for me and I have visited some great destinations based on them. Here are just a few:
David Cross Travel Blog 