Italian Visa

Out to lunch

Since I also need an Italian visa, and I can obtain a Turkish visa in one day, I decide to take my passport to the Italian embassy first, because they require a minimum of four days to process a visa application.

Premasindhu Prabhu's son, Lokanath Prabhu drives me to the Italian embassy in Houghton, but we end up getting lost and driving around in circles. We do pass the old house that used to be the temple where I joined the Krishna Consciousness movement with my seven-year-old daughter, Lucille, in 1981.

By the time we do find the Italian embassy, we are too late. The uncooperative guard at the gate informs us that we are four minutes late: the embassy closes for the day at 11:30 a.m. Before lunch! It must me nice to have a job there...

The bad news is that when I try to get my Turkish visa instead, I find that the embassy here, unlike their counterparts in Delhi, India, takes up to two weeks to process a visa application. Now what?