In this concluding installment of her series on the Uni Latin trip to Italy during spring break, junior Katherine Allen talks about the group's last day in Rome and how her trip became unexpectedly complicated. If you need to catch up, here are the first five parts of the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5. For a list of everyone who was on the trip and the group's itinerary, see the at-a-glance information below the story.

KATHERINE ALLEN
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Monday, May 18, 2009

ROME — The morning of Friday, March 27, dawned bright and beautiful, but I felt depressed.

Our last day in Rome had come. We took the metro to the Galleria Borghese, where we had an appointment at 9. At the Galleria, groups are given an hour to admire everything before the next group comes in.

The first thing we saw in the Galleria was Bernini’s statue of Proserpina and Pluto.

Seeing it up close, I noticed things I never would’ve learned from pictures — the different textures all over the statue, the dent in Proserpina’s skin from Pluto’s hand, and even Pluto’s armpit hair!

The Galleria is also home to Bernini’s more famous statue of Daphne and Apollo. The statue shows Daphne turning into a tree, just as Apollo catches up to her. Her toes are growing roots, her hands, reaching up to the sky, are sprouting branches. It is no wonder that many consider Bernini to be one of the greatest sculptors ever.

The Galleria features so much beautiful artwork, from so many famous artists — Bernini, Caravaggio, Raphael, Peter Paul Rubens, and Titian, just to name a few. As I was flipping through the pamphlet (the French version, just to test myself), I saw the painting I knew I had to see: Raphael’s Lady with the Unicorn.

I finally found it, and spent ages in front of it. I could see how many people would overlook it, but the unicorn was just so darn cute! Junior Tej Chajed thought my mild obsession was immensely funny, and teased me about it for the rest of the day.

Our time in the Galleria was too short, but our next stop was almost as exciting: the Spanish Steps and its surrounding shopping area. Sophomore Simone Ballard was determined to buy a pair of sunglasses from Prada, and classmate Ashley Huddson hoped to visit a store she had picked out earlier.

We got to the fountain in the middle of the piazza, and Latin teacher Krisanna Zusman had to quickly set a time limit — the girls were so excited that we were ready to run to the shops. Sure enough, we jogged over to Prada the second we could, giggling nervously as soon as the doorman welcomed us in.

Simone found her dream glasses instantly and brought them over to the desk. However, she couldn’t just buy them. She had to follow the man behind the desk into a glass elevator, which rose very slowly to the upper floor (no doubt so that the Prada people could stare at us mere mortals below with amusement and slight disdain). She seemed to be up there for ages (giving me time to feel completely out of place in my jeans and Uni track sweatshirt), before she returned. With nothing.

She told us that she was exactly 15 Euros short and couldn’t get the glasses. Of course, those of us who had enough left gave her what she needed, and she came back minutes later with a Prada bag. Inside there were two certificates of authenticity, a beautiful case, and the glasses.

At one of the "lesser" stores, Ashley bought purple shades at the suggestion of the store clerk. By this time, we were running a little bit late. We rushed back to our rendezvous, where, sure enough, everyone was already waiting. Cue shock, amazement, and disbelief among some of the boys when Simone's and Ashley's purchases were displayed.

We hopped onto the metro and headed over to the Trevi Fountain, where a couple of days before we had scoped out the best tourist-y souvenir shops. True, there are little stands every 10 feet on the street, but the quality of the items there is worrying at best. I made my most expensive purchase — a sweatshirt with a Mario Brothers character — in one of these shops.

We walked through the city, trying to soak up the last bit of Roman atmosphere before we had to leave. I felt nostalgic while doing this — the week was over already!? It seemed unbelievable. The prospect of seeing my family and friends when we got back was heartwarming, though, and I tried to think of that instead.

Dinner was about a 15-minute walk away from the hotel, at the Ristorante Al Gladiatore, right across the street from the Coliseum. We chattered excitedly as we anticipated our final meal in Rome.

Right before the antipasti was served, a group of people started singing and playing music in the room next to us very, very loudly. We were served antipasti as our eardrums were being blasted out: salad, bruschetta with tomatoes on top, salami, and rice balls. Just by looking at it, I knew this would be a meal to remember. I was right.

Our next course was fettucine with a thick cream sauce, a slightly spicy tang flavoring it perfectly. Dinner was salad, roast chicken, and roast potatoes. If you are ever in Rome, you should make it a point to visit this restaurant.

We headed home, full and happy, almost forgetting the packing we had ahead of us. A perfect end to a perfect day to a perfect week.

Little did I know that our departure day held an extremely shocking and unpleasant surprise for me. I — and consequently my unfortunate chaperone Mrs. Zusman — was not to go home with the rest of the group.

A kind but overzealous U.S. Airways official, Allesandro, wrongly believed that I did not have the proper paperwork to enter America. He was certain that if he were to let me on the flight I would promptly be sent back to Italy, getting him in trouble and incurring a huge fine for U.S. Airways.

As a Canadian citizen I do not need a visa to enter the United States, but I do need a document indicating why I am living and going to school there. I had the necessary document. The notice-of-action form is basically proof that I am in the process of applying for a green card. Before the trip, we double-checked, and both our immigration lawyers and the American Consulate General's office in Toronto confirmed by e-mail and phone that these were the only requirements.

Yet Allesandro wouldn’t budge. The reason he was confused was that in 2006 the American Consul General’s office in Cape Town mistakenly issued me an American visa together with my parents. Allesandro’s reasoning was that if I had a visa before, why didn’t I have one now?

The whole mess could easily have been sorted out if Allesandro could have gotten in touch with the proper authorities to endorse my entering the U.S. But the fact that we left Italy in the morning (the middle of the night in the U.S.) and over the weekend (with practically no one at work at the U.S. Embassy in Rome) meant that no help was available.

To our great relief and joy Allesandro was eventually prepared to let us on the plane the next day (Sunday morning), only to destroy our happiness by saying that he could not find connecting flights back to Chicago and that the whole process had taken so much time that we were too late to board anyway.

Everyone told me that “if you are going to get stuck somewhere, there couldn’t be a better place than Italy.” Yet, I found that when your mind is set on going home you could literally be stuck in heaven and you still wouldn’t enjoy it. It’s a cliché but it's true: One of the joys of travel is to return to your family, bags full of presents, and with lots of stories to tell. It’s to bask in their happiness of having you back.

So yeah, maybe I did visit Ostia (an ancient Roman port town) during my extended stay, but it was nevertheless a stressful and sad time for me. I felt guilty that Mrs. Zusman was stuck with me, and it’s frustrating being in “trouble” when you know you’ve done everything right.

There was one slightly positive thing: Because I bought an Italian sim card for my phone, it was easy for my family and lawyer to be in touch with me.

I would strongly recommend that travelers take a GSM Tri Band phone when they travel. Having an Italian phone number made it possible for my parents to call me constantly to keep my spirits up and for my lawyer to emphasize that I did not need additional documentation and that I would be home soon.

"Home soon" were very much the words I needed to hear then.

More photos from the spring break trip to Italy

A stormy view of the sea from our hotel room in Fiumicino. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)

A mosaic in the ruins of Ostia. This was the floor of a Roman bath house. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)

SPRING BREAK IN ITALY at a glance

• Who
  Latin teacher Krisanna Zusman
  junior Katherine Allen
  junior Tej Chajed
  junior Jasper Maniates-Selvin
  junior Arnav Pamidighantam
  junior Daniel Pearlstein
  sophomore Simone Ballard
  sophomore Kahlilah Cooke
  sophomore Ashley Huddson
  sophomore Amrutha Kumaran
  sophomore Heather Lin
  sophomore Michael Meyer
  sophomore Charlie Newman-Johnson
  chaperone Zanne Newman
  chaperone Steve Zusman

• When
  Saturday, March 21, to Sunday, March 29

• Where
  Destinations in Italy included Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Positano

• Schedule
  Monday, March 23 — Colosseum and Roman Legionary Museum
  Tuesday, March 24 — Visit Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, Capitoline Museum
  Wednesday, March 25 — Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps
  Thursday, March 26 — Herculaneum and excursion to Amalfi Coast
  Friday, March 27 — Final day, chaperoned sightseeing