Dances with Wolves? No, Runs With Pigeons

Just got back from a half run in Venice. Ran twice around St. Marks Square -- once at the start and once near the end, and then along the lagoon and back.

I wasn't in best form (after ten days of walking around Italy, my bad ankle feels as stiff as the David's right ankle). However, it was still an inspiring run. Running up and down the bridges gave me some step work (after about the tenth bridge I felt like I should raise my arms in a triumphant Rocky pose), and I got out early enough that the city was nearly empty, with just a few working boats going around, and a handful of other runners, as well as some picture takers and tourists.

(The best line in Rocky Balboa is when Rocky says to Pauly -- "hey, stick around, the special of the day is about to come out." Pauly: "There aint't nothing special about Italian food made by Mexicans." If you are offended by that line, get a life. If you laughed, welcome.)

Carol informed us that St. Mark's Square is the only place in Venice where pigeons are allowed (that's why they flock there). Apparently the city gets a cut of the profit from the pigeon food that is sold there. In the rest of the city, pigeons are hunted and killed.

Traveler's Tip: Don't order chicken in Venice. Why? Um, just a thought.

I also got to see the town clock strike the hour -- 8am. There are two figures at the bell, and one of the figures moves and strikes the bell with his sledgehammer like thingie. It's very nifty to watch.

It's amazing how quickly the city started filling up between 8am and 8:30. Many vaporettos pulled up, disgorging workers and tourists. There was a garbage barge where workers had to toss the bags into the hold one by one, and then the barge operator would flatten the garbage like a regular garbage truck.

As I passed other runners, we winked, nodded, and mumbled buonogiorno to each other. We had learned the secret -- running shoes early in the morning is a great way to another side of Venice.

During my warm-down, I stopped at a garbage can and, ahem, cleared my nose without a tissue, and without any sign of class. The woman outside my hotel glared at me. She was smoking, so you tell me who showed less class.

Time to shower and get breakfast. I'm going to write some posts to cover Venice whilst at the airport. God I love this city!