the new IDs saga continues

 So a few posts back we mentioned the power failure in all of Spain and Portugal. We were in the waiting room of the policia nacional at the Plaza España. It was a Monday. We were re-appointed for Wednesday and we had two tasks to accomplish with the gestor Valerie. 1. Get our fingerprints and photos done for new ID cards (to be issued in a month) and 2. get a paper called a "regreso" so that we could leave the country and return despite not having our new ID cards as they would not be issued before we left and they must be picked up in person because they use your fingerprint as the mechanism to verify you match your ID card. 

So off we went to meet Valerie and we completed the first appointment very quickly. We had to go to another office to get the paperwork filed for the "regreso" and - unfortunately their computers were still not operational post power outage. So Valerie took all the paperwork did a power of attorney on the spot. And went off to find out if she could get the first step of this process completed. Somehow she got the process done at the post office. 

So Thursday was a national holiday (May Day) and Friday we went off with the new papers to see the guy at Table 6 at the Policia Nacional to get a printed document of "regreso". And then things began to fall apart. The taxi strike that morning had us arriving later than desired as the office closed for the weekend at 2 PM. We got there around 1PM and they guy insisted we were missing documents we had given Valerie on Wednesday and she had filed them in order for the other office to issue the documents that we had brought with us on Friday midday. 

So frantic calls to the lawyer resulted in them emailing the papers that hadn't made it in the Mr Table 6's file to a local copy shop - Phil ran over there and got them printed (we are talking like 50 pages of full copies of our passports each!) At 1:55 I went back to Table 6 to tell him my husband was on his way back with the documents - he knew we were leaving the country on Sunday. He was having none of it. He said it's 2 PM and WE ARE CLOSED. Phil had told me to cry so I did my best hysterical crying and Phil walked in literally at 2:01! He still said no way but the lawyer got on the phone with him and with a colleague of his and also with his boss and - bottom line - at 2:40 we walked out with the documents. 

Again - I will remind you cab strike that day- so we decided it was now time to learn the tram system (which was NOT working the day of the power failure)  and that was how we got home - the tram to Plaza Nueva and steps from there to our building. Below - photos of the location of the Policia Nacional Office of the Extranjero.

The below photo is the part of the Plaza where the actual office is located - about halfway Left to Right about four arched colonnades in from the tower. 

so that was our Friday adventure!