Important travel news about Venice this June…A visit to Two Trees for river sightings…

Several waterbucks across the Crocodile River.

Note: Today’s photos were taken quite far from where we were seated at Two Trees river-viewing area.

From Travel & Leisure, we encountered the following article, which may be significant to many of our readers traveling to Venice in June. We are not interested in celebrity news; we are sharing this important article for any of our readers considering a visit to Venice.

Venice is a fantastic tourist experience, which we thoroughly enjoyed in June 2013, and it is a once-in-a-lifetime travel treasure. However, if you have plans to travel to Venice

“Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Wedding Has Travelers Worried About Visiting Venice This Summer—Here’s What You Should Know

Venice has hosted bigger events, but you may have some trouble in one area of planning.

  • Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are tying the knot in Venice.
  • Amid reports and fears of travel disruptions in the popular Italian destination, the city claims it “will be easy for Venice to accommodate such an event.”
  • For anyone overlapping with the wedding, there’s one booking you should make ASAP.

When one of the wealthiest men in the world gets married, you know it will be a scene. And that’s exactly why travelers are already bracing for the impact of Jeff Bezos marrying Lauren Sanchez in Venice this June.

I caught this bird in flight, but what a strange photo!

“It seems that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have decided to get married in Venice on June 24-26. Reports say that they have reserved all water taxis in the city and will be taking over many of the high-end hotels,” one Redditor recently lamented on the Italy Travel subreddit. “I would not want to be anywhere near Venice during that time. Make alternate plans to go somewhere else if you value your sanity and your health.”

However, it appears this was all by design. Morris Ceron, the director general of the Venice council, told the London Times he actually campaigned for the couple to have their wedding here. “Seven months ago, Domenico Dolce told me Bezos was getting married,” Ceron said. “I got to work to bring this marriage of the century to Venice—that’s how it started.

But these upcoming nuptials have drawn almost too much attention—so much so that the local government felt compelled to share a statement about the wedding to dispel any fears.

“The many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos’ wedding are completely unfounded. Only two hundred guests will have been invited, and therefore it will be easy for Venice to accommodate such an event, without any disruption whatsoever to the city, its residents and visitors,” Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, wrote.

Waterbucks are beautiful animals, much larger than they appear in these blurry photos.

As Brugnaro noted, the city has hosted “international events much larger than this.” He also squashed the rumor that the Bezos wedding party has already rented out all the gondolas in the city. “The organization has categorically not booked large amounts of gondolas or excessive numbers of water taxis, and it is their utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone.”

In fact, people may not even realize the wedding is taking place. A spokesperson for the mayor of Venice told CNN that the wedding is likely taking place on Bezos’ superyacht, which will be anchored in the lagoon.

That said, people may have trouble finding a luxury hotel room. According to CNN, the city’s best hotels—including the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, the St. Regis Venice, and the Gritti Palace—are almost all completely booked for the end of June.

Which celebrities fellow travelers may spot over the wedding weekend is really anyone’s guess, but TMZ is speculating that Eva Longoria, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Kris Jenner, and Kim Kardashian have all made the list.

So yes, it will be busy. But if you’ve already got plans to visit, you don’t necessarily have to re-book if you don’t want to.

“As Municipality of Venice, from the beginning, we are mutually working and supporting the organizers to ensure that the event will be respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,” Brugnaro added. “For this reason, we will work together for best result. Whoever loves Venice will always be welcome.”

If you plan to be in Venice during this hectic period, which will extend to the end of the month, and “celebrity” doesn’t appeal to you, there are countless amazing places in Italy to choose from as an alternative. Perhaps you can save a trip to Venice for the end of your Italian vacation when this massive event is over.
On another note, we headed to the Two Trees viewing area a few days ago but only spotted the above-shown waterbucks. But Lisa was thrilled to see a species she had yet to see. We are having such fun with her. We booked some activities for next week with the help of Louise when we stopped at the Marloth Park Info Centre, owned and operated by Louise and Danie.
We will be sharing photos here after each event. We are all looking forward to these activities.
Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, April 5, 2015:

It is not an Easter lily but an orchid. It was spotted in Princeville, Kauai. For more photos, please click here.

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