A very long roll of string is a useful thing to have when visiting Venice. Along with some fashionable swimwear.

Venice is a truly unique place.

And it’s in trouble.

This week saw the main plaza in Venice, St. Mark’s Square, submerged in a metre of water. Tables and chairs met gondolas. The local fish had extra room to manoeuvre. At least some living creatures were happy.

The Mayor of Venice maintained that it’s all down to climate change. This may well be true. Something that is also true is that more can be done to protect Venice from high tides. Work on a flood defence system has been ongoing since 2003 but has yet to be completed, hampered by various delays and a corruption scandal in 2014. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has promised that the project will be completed. Let’s hope he’s right. Two people died during the recent floods.

Made up of more than 100 islands inside a lagoon off the Northeast coast of Italy, there are no roads in Venice, only canals. It is a beautiful, watery maze. My Good Self spent a few nights there many seasons ago. I was on an Inter-rail holiday, wandering around Europe for a month by means of train travel. Inter-rail tickets are one of life’s better inventions.

I had always been curious about Venice, ever since seeing Nicolas Roeg’s atmospheric movie ‘Don’t look now’, starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. I wasn’t disappointed. There is nowhere else in the world quite like it. I am happy to report that I never once got lost during my time there, quite an achievement in Venice.

My visit came at a time in my life when the two spherical objects on either side of my nose were in better shape than they are now.

Should I ever return to Venice I will bring many balls of string with me.