We’d heard stories about Venice in the rain — especially in the winter — when the entire city would be submerged in knee high water and you’d have to wear waders to get around.  But this was the late Spring when we were there and we didn’t expect a relatively light rain to create water flooding into the ground floor of our rented apartment making escape all but impossible.  But that’s exactly what happened.It turns out that the rising waters of Venice do not have to do with the rain, nor does it have to do with the fact that the city is sinking (a few millimeters each decade, nothing to lose sleep over).  It’s entirely caused by the cycle of tides and the moon.  When these forces align, situations like the one we had to confront unexpectedly occur.  True Venetians have knee high waders at the ready and an app on their phone that shows the height of the water levels at every point in the city.  But visitors like us just have to improvise.