Break out the champagne! We are official!

I will start with yesterday. Andy decided that we should do a ‘dry run’ to the Questura (Immigration office) to be sure we would find it and get there on time for our real appointment today at 11:30. We got the subway to Termini and changed to another line and went as far as that subway went…the end of the line. Then we got on a bus and went quite awhile….got off and walked and walked. Finally came to a big building with hundreds of people milling about outside and inside. A military man told us where to arrive today. This area looks like a third world country. And most of the people look like they came from third world countries. And then there were the four Porta-Potties along the fence….pretty grim. Oh, did I mention the pouring rain? Back on the bus, back on the subway to Termini, and then we got off at the Spanish Steps. On the bus and subway, we sat with a young college student from Florida going tomthenCatholicmUniversity for a year. She told us to go past the main gate, buzz at an intercom and if they let us in, we would bypass all the people congregated outside. Went to eat lunch and then went to see a movie. The Theory of Everything, about Stephen Hawking. Very good. We met two fellows outside while waiting who told us that the new President of Italy had been sworn in near there at 11:30. The movie starts at 3:30 and the doors opened at 3:25. No popcorn, no drinks, no candy. We sat in a very small theater. We had exactly 5 minutes of previews and the movie started exactly at 3:30. It was in English with Italian subtitles and I found that very helpful to improve my Italian. Came home, ate soup and went to bed.
Left the house at 8am. Subway to Termini, the B line to the end, got a different bus. This one dropped us right at the entrance gate to the Questura. We walked past the throng, past the Porta-Potties and to the gate with the buzzer. We get right in, show our papers and are ushered to the x-ray machine, go thru security and a nice military man unlocks the elevator for us to go up to the third floor. We sit down inside after I pick up my packet mailed two weeks ago from the post office…after our 16€ stamp and 127€ fee were paid. Andy’s packet wasn’t there. But we had copies of everything that was in the packet…so no problem. These are copies of all that we gave them in Houston and Philadelphia to get our original long term visas also. Then we go together to a nice lady in Office A who takes all of our papers…mine from the packet, Andy’s from her stack of copies…4 passport photos…they now have 6 photos of me and 6 of Andy, and we are fingerprinted. Every finger of both hands. Then we go back to the waiting room until we are called to Office B. The waiting room is full and a nice gentleman gives me his seat and another gives his seat to Andy. I notice the gentleman has a badge on identifying him as a Morman missionary. We go to a desk in Office B and are again fingerprinted and hand printed. Maybe they are going to read our palms??? While Andy is getting her prints done, I ask the Missionary if he knows a young missionary girl I met in Houston when I had my visa interview. She is here in Rome and we have been emailing. Of course he knows her and sees her almost daily. Small world strikes again! There is a Mormon temple being built here in Rome. We leave and hop the bus. Before the bus comes, we notice an area at the corner that looks a bit like the City Dump, but behind the walls are shacks…and this is a Shanty Town. I mean poor…unheated and unsanitary living conditions.
To Be Continued…..