Perhaps The Most Surreal, Remarkable Thing I've Seen In A Very Long Time

I can't believe it's been almost 8 years since my last visit to Venice.  Without getting maudlin, I'd just say that if you've never been, you owe it to yourself to go.

Just prior to WW2, Venice had a population of about 150,000.  Today the permanent population is about 60,000, but daytrippers and cruise ship passengers and other tourists dramatically boost that number--at least during business hours.  It's remarkable how crowded Venice gets, even though the actual population is so relatively small.

Here's a video I took while on a vaporetto (water bus) ride up the Grand Canal.  Notice how many boats you see:


Here's Venice today:

As Italy quarantines over coronavirus, swans appear in Venice canals, dolphins swim up playfully

“Nature just hit the reset button” in the suddenly clear waters of Venice canals and off the coast of a locked-down Italy.

Check out the pictures. Notice the empty Grand Canal.