Last Hurrah

BY: MARIA MERCEDES CORREDOR, FIU SUMMER 2023

Venice was filled with emotions. When we arrived at the train station, I was already exhausted. The trip from Cinque Terre was difficult and I was carrying two suitcases. At this point I had bought way too many souvenirs which made the trip harder. Venice is unique. There are no cars or bikes, heck I didn’t even see a scooter nor skateboard! No wheels. Only tourists that walk down narrow streets and gondolas and water taxis. This meant that my only two options to get to the hotel were either paying $190 for a water taxi or walking.

I decided to walk, and it was horrible! It was supposed to be a 20 min walk and it took me over an hour. The sun was hot, the streets narrow and the suitcases heavy. There were 11 sets of stairs (yes, I counted them) but the worse part was that I couldn’t complain. I had brought myself into this mess and had no one to blame but myself. After I got to the hotel, the rest of my time in Venice was spent in awe of life there. This city is like no other. The sets of streets linked together by bridges and stairs compose a maze that it is easy to get lost in. The walls are high and the tourists abundant, nonetheless there is a certain peace in the city that wraps around you.

I was able to enjoy Venice to the fullest. During class we went to several places and in my time alone I explored and discovered many places. Part of what amazed me about Venice was the Pala D’Oro in Saint Mark’s Church. It is an altar that is almost hidden in the church, and it is absolutely mesmerizing. It is made of gold and precious rocks, and to me, it almost looked too pretty to be real. The shining stones and the careful design had me looking with my mouth wide open. A truly beautiful thing. We also got to walk through the house of Elena Lucrezia, the first woman in the world to graduate from university. Learning about her and making a connection to her history filled me with pride and motivation to continue her legacy.

Besides looking at the art and visiting churches, I got to go on a gondola ride and walked around the market, went into multiple stores and a museum. During the night, my friends and I went out and had a blast! We ended up dancing in a small plaza in the city and later that same night we went back to Plaza San Marco (the main plaza of the city). At night it is a completely different view. We were there around 2am and it was completely empty. We danced and ran through the plaza and enjoyed the moment to the fullest. I almost want to say it was the best time I had in my life. But that feeling of euphoria was already so common for me on this trip. Turns out that during this summer, I had the best time of my life multiple times!

Pictures by: Maria Corredor. Top: St Mark Square at night. Bottom left: Pala D’Oro. Bottom right: Elena Lucrezia House.