September 12th, Tuesday: Day 14

The pendant I got from the Sagrada Familia

Today we woke up a bit discouraged, but satisfied as well. Today was unfortunately our last day here in Spain. but we were happy we had the experience. All of us met at breakfast at around 5:30 AM to discuss our game plan for the day. We knew our flight was at 12 PM, and we would have to be there 2 hours early. Tyler then chirped in and said that if we ruined one more pair of Asics, we would end up stuck in Spain with no way home. We had a well-needed laugh over this. Rohan finally decided that we would visit La Rambla, then go straight to the airport after. At least no Asics would be ruined (hopefully). After our breakfast at the beautiful Porta Fira, which we would miss so much, we went up to our rooms to pack. It seemed like my bag doubled in size after all the souvenirs we bought. I was brushing my teeth when I peered back into the room to see Chris jumping on his bag to try and fit a large stuffed bear in it. I didn't even know how he would take that on board. I reached into my pocket to find a nice pendant I got from a nice store near the Sagrada Familia. The pendant was in the shape of a cross, silver and black, and was excellently crafted. I put the pendant on, then walked out to give one last glance out the window. Before I could even step foot out the bathroom, there was a large crash from the hallway. Chris and I sprinted out to see Mason lying on the floor in a pile of clothes. We thought Mason had knocked himself out! We ran over to shake him, but we found out he was just sleeping. Mason seemed to always stall us from getting to places. After we helped him pack-up at around 8, we all met up in the hallway again. In the crook of Rohan's arm, there was a bright red and yellow colored soccer ball. He glanced over and gave me a nod. I instantly

Rohan's soccer ball.

understood what he was implying. We all took the elevator down, but as soon as we got to ground floor, we set the ball down and started dribbling. Mason had the ball and passed it to Tyler who popped it very high. Tyler then searched around him to see where the ball went before it landed back on his head. With a large laugh, I swept the ball and passed it to Chris. Chris gave a fast pass to Rohan, standing near the doorway. Rohan then powered up, and smashed the ball out the door. We all cheered and yelled "Goal!" as we sprinted out Porta Fira. We heard large shouting behind us as we sprinted to the car. I fumbled with the keys but I still managed to unlock the car extremely fast, and everyone else loaded up into the car in a flash. We were on our way out but Rohan said he forgot to pick up his ball! I let Rohan out to grab his ball, picked him up, and drifted around the exit 20 KPH over the speed limit. We would be heading to La Rambla, a tree-lined pedestrian mall. It is 0.75 miles long (1.2 km). It has even been around since 1337, which was very impressive. A famous Spanish poet named Federico Garcia Lorca even said it was "the only street in the world which I wish would never end". As we drove passed to find a parking spot, we glanced

La Rambla on a clear morning.

down the street and saw numerous people, vendors, and stores. It immediately made us forget the sadness of going home. Although we were excited, the parking was about to drive me insane. We were driving in circles until Mason said I should drop them off and keep searching. It wasn't a bad idea considering the time we had left, but I was going to let them suffer with me. Eventually, we found a lot that was pretty cheap (around $5 or 4.7 euros). I glanced at my phone to see the time, and it was only 8 AM! We only had 2 hours, so we hurried to get to the street. Even at 8 in the morning, there were still hundreds of people there. I guess Spanish people don't sleep in, but that's none of my business. The sun hadn't come up yet, so the weather was fairly cool and the street was a bit dark, except for the slight lights that emanated from store fronts. I had heard there was an H&M outlet, which made me very excited. Chris was excited because there was a KFC there. As we walked down the street, we admired the beautiful trees that were now a faded green towards the

La Rambla's beautiful trees!

end of summer, and the intricate storefronts. We were strolling down the street and admiring the diverse vendors' items until I heard a scream from behind. I whipped out around to see Tyler jumping up and own. He was screaming about something inaudible, but then I saw his phone. He saw an Asics store nearby. We kept strolling on without him until he realized we were gone. Mason recommended we should buy some souvenirs to bring back home and since there were a lot of vendors, it wasn't a bad idea. Rohan wanted to get another soccer ball, but I didn't think they would let it on overhead compartments. Of course, he didn't listen to me and proceeded to buy it. It was now around 9 AM, so we decided to head to eat somewhere before our long flight. What better way to end a trip at a beautiful country by going to Kentucky Fried

The KFC at La Rambla.

Chicken. Simply amazing. Rohan unfortunately, could not eat much because of dietary restrictions, so he picked up food from a nearby Subway. For the last meal in the beautiful Spanish country of Spain, it was nice to finally eat something American. We even bought 2 gallons of sweet tea to drink on the way to the airport! We would cherish this trip for a long time, even Tyler who had faced many challenges with his footwear. I glanced at my phone, seeing that it was 9:20, proclaimed to the rest of the gang that we had to wrap up. As we exited into the slightly cool air, we could see the sun almost fully emerged, bathing us in it's warmth. We just stayed there, staring down the long stretch of trees and the ocean beyond. The water's reflection almost seemed to be winking at us as we
started to stroll away. We all gave each other some killer high-fives as we realized all 5 of us had made it through Spain alive. I couldn't wait to get back home, but I would also miss Spain immensely. After a couple more minutes, we got into our trusty rental car and

Our lovely rental car that somehow fit all of us.

drove off to the airport. There wasn't much talking going on, except for the occasional sound of us sipping our sweet tea. I could tell everybody else was a bit upset, so I plugged in my phone, went straight to Spotify, and almost broke the speakers with Kodak Black. You could tell we were definitely not from around here. That seemed to cheer everybody else up, and we had a pleasant 20-minute ride to Barcelona El-Prat Airport. Soon enough, we pulled into the Avis parking garage and dropped of our car. It just seemed like we were here yesterday, when in reality, it was a couple days. We stepped into the enormous airport, and took in the view once again. The high ceiling, bustling people, the soft jazz music, and the stores lining the walls. We got our tickets, passed security, and sat down to wait for our flight. It was 10:25, so we had some time to kill before our noon flight. Before we knew it, we were on the plane once again, peering out the windows from 30,000 feet once again.

Hasta La Proxima Spain!

Time most definitely flies when you're having fun, and we will have a very great story to tell our families when we get home. We cannot wait to visit again, and as the Spanish say: Hasta La Proxima, which means Until Next Time!