L'Acqua alta

Just back from a walk to investigate the flooding and the rumors of flooding. At first there was nothing out of the ordinary, but as we progressed to the main bridge we saw a tent set up for a base camp as the fire department command station. Several fire fighters, dressed in scuba gear, were loading an inflatable boat into a truck. As an aside, does anyone else see the irony of the firefighters in scuba suits? I digress, at the end of the road there was a very serious looking blockade. We couldn't even get close enough to see how high the river was.

As we gathered our thoughts on what to do next, go home and bake bread with the homemade yeast Ryan made (Actually it kind of made itself.) or look for a custard filled donut for me to eat were a few of the ideas we tossed around when the rain started again.

The base is scheduled to be open tomorrow, but who knows if that will happen considering the persistent downpour.

The great flood of 2010

My first entry on my blog. I know it’s long overdue, and since the HuffPo didn’t publish my posts I decided to regroup and start anew here. Although we are still recovering from our raging Halloween party, the follow up is already underway. With so much leftover wine and assorted liquors, including tequila and whiskey, throwing another party is the only way we can avert the inevitable guilt induced need to drink it all ourselves. I guess we could also open a bar but, that’s a little more complicated than throwing another party.

It’s been raining here for six days. Heavy clouds have loomed over Vicenza in a strict holding pattern since Thursday. Schools and businesses closed early yesterday and all day today. Many of the bridges and the main highway have all been flooded. I checked the weather forecast and it looks like rain for the next few days as well.

From my days in Rome I can tell you the Italians don’t do well with rain. A little rain can shut an Italian city down the way a snow storm can cause havoc in NYC. A lot of rain, the likes of which we have here now, is a near catastrophe. Somehow we’ll wade through all the water and make the best of it.