Logistical Nightmare

Its seven in the morning in Barcelona and my alarm clock buzzes, outside I hear the pitter patter of rain falling on the ground outside. We shove our clothes into our luggage and look to call a taxi, but no taxis were available. As we go downstairs to see if the front desk could order us one, the concierge explains to us that there is a taxi strike going on and we wouldn’t be able to find any. We both looked at each other hopelessly, how were we gonna get to the airport on time? We needed to take the buses, so we find where the nearest bus stop that takes people to the airport and our journey began. Walking outside, and immediately becoming drenched in water, we pulled our luggage, bumping over the cobblestone sidewalk. Not being able to to take the rain anymore, I ran into a supermarket and ask where I can buy an umbrella, luckily there was still one tiny one in stock. Huddling under the umbrella, Mackenzie and I make it to the bus stop where we are told that the bus to the airport is only picking people up at another bus stop on the other side of Barcelona. We could not believe it, first the taxi strike, now we had to figure out the train system in order to get to the bus. We find the subway, walk down the stairs and are greeted with a horrid stench of trash, but we were relieved to have escaped the rain. After getting through a 20 minute line for the ticket, we get on the subway, bumping shoulders with hundreds of other people trying to escape this city. We finally arrived at the bus stop destination, everyone rushes out of the train with their luggage, it was chaos. Finally, we find our bus line that was possibly 100 people long, and to make the matters worse, it was still down pouring. The cheap umbrella I bought could barely even cover both of us, and the wind made it hard to keep it intact. After about thirty minutes of getting drenched by the rain, we get on the bus. At this moment I breathed a sigh of relief and finally had the opportunity to change my socks and shoes. Peeling the soggy items off my feet was one of the greatest feelings in the world, countered with the relief of knowing I will make it back to Florence on time, I finally could let go of all my anxiety. This experience taught me a lot about myself, it made me realize the essence of being able to keep my cool in trying situations. Additionally, it made me recognize the importance of patience. Watching people begin to freak out about what to do was eye opening and taught me a very important virtue in life.