Today is the last episode of our docu-series for Kin Story, but it’s definitely not the last episode for us! Please join us as we continue our adventures in Italy on my personal YouTube Channel!
I also wanted to say thanks for coming along on this journey and I hope you’ve enjoyed the videos as much as we have!
And remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE on each video… if you’re so inclined. Grazie again!
Hi! So I have a YouTube Channel! It’s at youtube.com/staceebucciarelli. Just like the playlist on KIN COMMUNITY’s Channel, I’ve made a playlist where you can see all the episodes in order! See some sample episodes here on my blog!
If you have no idea what I’m talking about… Deca TV has just launched KIN STORY on YouTube. It’s a daily, 2-min (approx) documentary show that follows my move from Los Angeles to Italy.
Please subscribe to my channel so that you don’t miss an episode. I really do appreciate it if you watch and comment! I’d love to keep this show going which means… I need you! Please let me know if there’s something you want to know about the move or what life is like here in Tuscany.
And please pass it along to your friends!
Thanks a mil!
My friends are all too aware of the rigmarole we went through in order to get our little kitty to Italy. At one point, our friend Babi was going to fly on our dime to bring our cat to Italy. Here’s what happened to us and hopefully, anyone bringing a pet to Italy can learn from our mistakes!
So, like any person moving pets to another country, I did what I thought was rational. I called the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles and asked them what the procedure was for bringing my cat to Italy. I was directed to the consulate website for information and the necessary forms. The website states that my cat needs a rabies vaccination, a microchip, and the international health certificate. Easy peasy! I print the forms and contact our vet to set up the appointment. The vet tells me that the appointment needs to be within 10 days of our departure in order for the health certificate to be valid. I told them we also needed an updated rabies shot and a microchip. No problem – it can all be done in one visit. Fantastic, I think. 
So we bring our beloved pet to the vet 7 days before leaving to get everything taken care of. Low and behold, we are told that the rabies shot was to be administered at least 21 days before entry into any European Union country! Huh what? Our vet made us sign a release saying that we were traveling with our pet at our own discretion and he wasn’t responsible for any problems that might ensue. And on top of all this, we still had to take our paperwork to the USDA office by LAX, as it turns out our vet isn’t officially authorized to sign the docs! We think everything is still fine and we’ll go ahead and bring our cat on the plane.
Well, after some more research and numerous calls and emails to friends who work at airlines, we were more confused than ever. Our airline claims that they know nothing about the 21-day rule. But when I called back and spoke to another agent, she was adamant about us not bringing our cat lest she be euthanized upon EU entry! WHAT?! I didn’t even know this was a possibility. There was no way we were taking that chance. Even my friend who has worked for an airline for years confirmed this could happen. Otherwise, our cat might have to be flown immediately back to the States; the better of two evils.
So I start calling friends to see if anyone can keep our cat for the extra 14 days and then begin to research pet transport companies. I found a company willing to take care of the transportation for a mere $3000. No joke! Our solution? My friend Cat was going to cat sit for 2 weeks and my friend Babi was going to get a free trip to Italy (using our miles) as our cat courier! This was such madness to work out. And the problem stems from the information I received from the Italian Consulate! Even after I called and told them about my dilemma, no one was able to give me any definitive information.
Two nights before we left, my husband was able to reach the minister of health and veterinary services in Italy. He told him of our plight and the minister immediately issued an email notifying the authorities in Italy (city and local) of the American cat coming to Tuscany! No joke. The next day we had the official letter translated and notarized by the Italian Consulate and then we were good to go.
To boot, after all of this… no one even asked us for any paperwork on our cat at any point! I couldn’t believe it! The airline took our paperwork just so that we could pay the $100 pet travel ticket. No one checked during our customs in Germany and no one checked in Italy either. Had we not notified the minister of health here in Italy, no one would have ever known that we even had a cat! However, because we did notify him, the official vet came to our home to give Sixx a checkup and then return after the remaining 14 days to give us an official health department seal of approval on our paperwork… and that’s how Sixx ended up in Italy!
Tips for travelling internationally with a cat:
I think that’s it! Boy am I glad that ordeal is over. Whew!
I’ve been under the weather for the past few days = no blogging. Caught my first Italian bug… or I should say, our entire town caught it. Everyone here is or has been sick. What a bummer but at least we’re all in it together. Anyhow, in the meantime… enjoy our first episode of the new series that is following our Tuscan adventure every Monday through Friday! It’s on the KIN CHANNEL. Ciao!
And please, I really do appreciate your feedback and comments, here and on YouTube!
I’m used to having our simple American two-holed electrical outlets for most things, and a three-hole outlet for others that require a ground. Well, as it turns out, there are a number of different types of electrical outlets in Italy. There are:
And you can expect that any particular appliance you purchase will have precisely the type of plug that does not fit the particular hole you need it to go into. Consequently, there is an entire aftermarket that has been created solely for electrical adapters. And this market for these adapters is ever-changing (which I don’t understand). But, I digress….
The particular adapter that we need in our home most often is the one that goes from two large plugs to three small plugs. So… off we went in search of these adapters only to learn that they are no longer made! Huh, what?! This means that in order to dry my hair after a shower I have to use three different adapters: 1.) two large plugs to three large plugs; 2.) three large plugs to two small plugs; and 3.) two small plugs to three small plugs.
I thought that this was atypical, but no, this is fairly common. We had to do the same thing to power our Christmas tree. And until you purchase all the different sizes of adapters, you will find yourself plugging and unplugging things and switching adapters so frequently that you’ll find yourself in a Rubik’s Cube game of adapters. My nephew actually connected so many together it looks as if he created, quite literally, a huge Transformer.
So, if you are travelling to our neck of the woods, I might suggest you purchase a variety of travel adapters or you might be sitting in your room with wet hair for quite some time (which might not be a bad thing depending on the view).
Dryers are a big no-no in Italy. (Another convenience equally frowned upon: air conditioners, but I’ll tackle that one in summer). Hmm, what to do? My quest for a dryer is poor at best (it seems that it is sliding down the scale on our priority purchases list), but it is still something I deem absolutely necessary for a household of four, two of which are kids. Here is what it looks like in my dryer-free home:
Who has time, I ask, to hang each individual piece of clothing on a stendino (drying rack) with clothes pins, wait for it to dry, iron everything because it’s rigid and wrinkled, and then fold everything? Further, have you ever dried off with a towel that has been dried on a stendino? Or have you tried to put on a pair of jeans? That towel is as soft as sandpaper, and as for the jeans? I refer to my husband who claims that the pants can stand up by themselves!
Still, I’m finding my defense of my need to have a dryer is lost upon deaf ears. There is no convincing anyone that a dryer is better than the fresh Tuscan air… maybe they’re right. Will I change my American ways? Time will tell. For now, I’m determined to get a dryer and start using that box of Bounce that I brought from America!
After a total travel time of about 18 hours, the Bucciarelli family set foot on Italian soil.
I couldn’t believe we made the trip relatively in check: one red-eyed husband, one disheveled mamma, one excited toddler, one sleepy baby, and one very patient cat! I know I’ve been an advocate of travelling with babies because it’s generally easy, but I’m reluctant to admit that on this particular journey, we were “THAT” family. You know the one… the one that everyone hates to be in line behind at the security check point, and the one that you pray you don’t sit next to on the 12-hour flight. Well, that was us!
Still, we seemed to have it together. We might have taken a bit longer to board and deplane (an entire shuttle bus was waiting for us as we deplaned in Florence), and Gemma might have woken up another sleeping toddler who then proceeded to cry for 3 hours, and our cat might have taken a poop on the small prop plane connecting us from Munich to Florence, but other than that, we did pretty good!
Tips that I might offer for any other family brave enough to travel across the world:
-Leave for the airport as early as you can.
Our flight was at 9:30pm and we left at 5:00pm. By the time we waiting in all the lines, paid the extra fees for our cat, Sixx, and made it through security, we had just enough time to grab a quick sandwich at the gate and then board. No joke.
-Bring lots of new toys for your toddler.
Of course, she was entertained by the airport and the planes, but once on board, you’ll be ever-so-thankful that you have
that new book, sticker album, or doll. Seriously, I can’t emphasize this one enough.
-Come prepared.
Always have extra diapers, wipes, and snacks that you know that your kid actually likes.
-Get the bassinet.
If you have a kid under 2, this is essential. You’ll be seated in the front row of a cabin as the bassinet hooks into the wall in front of you. Not only do
you get extra leg room, but it’s priceless to let your baby sleep stretched out and comfortable. Our newborn slept for almost the entire flight… no joke! Moreover, your toddler can’t kick the seat in front of you!
-Take a red eye if you can.
I know it’s harder on the parents, who may not get much sleep, but it’s definitely easier on the kids. And if you can keep them up a bit longer than usual, they’ll have an easier time adjusting to the time change.
-Breathe and/or laugh.
Things will go wrong. Kids will poop at the most inopportune times. They will scream and cry when the rest of the cabin is asleep. At one point, both girls were crying and all I could do was take a deep breath and wait it out. Later, in the bathroom at the terminal in Munich, a woman came up to me and said I handled the stress extraordinarily well. I must admit, I felt kind of proud… if I don’t say so myself.
Today we managed to get quite a bit accomplished in terms of our preparation for the big move. In addition to my daughter’s art class and time spent playing at the park, we took passport/visa photos (an event in and of itself when it comes to children, especially babies) and then we hit the Italian Consulate to take care of all our paperwork. I’m happy to say that in about a week and a half, the American portion of our family (the girls and me) will be able to legally enter and permanently reside in Italy.
It was indeed quite a process that took some preparation. Let me back up. Gemma and Violetta are eligible to get their Italian passports because they are Italian by birth. I, on the other hand, have to get a one-year visa because I’m going to Italy via marriage. (Once there, I will be able to apply for my citizenship and passport.) But in order for us to even get to the point of getting an appointment at the consulate, we had to run in a few circles. First, we had to put a rush on Violetta’s birth certificate so that we could get her United States passport. Well, they typically don’t do rushes unless you have your airline tickets purchased and can show proof. However, we couldn’t buy the tickets until we had our appointment at the Italian Consulate (which requires that you do everything within a very specific timeframe so we couldn’t buy our tickets this early), yet we couldn’t get the appointment at the consulate until we had the birth certificate?!?! It was a crazy circle, but we found our way out. I guess we just got lucky because the Office of Records didn’t ask to see our plane tickets before issuing the birth certificate! Whew… we were on our way.
Once we had the birth certificate and the American passport, it was off to downtown Los Angeles to get an apostile (pretty much a notarization saying that the birth certificate is a true and legal document). However, because we rushed the birth certificate, we didn’t get the Dean of California seal, but rather one from a nurse. So, our application for the Apostile was rejected and we were told to head to an office in Norwalk to get the proper authorization seal. So… off to Norwalk. (Are you getting the feeling that this is like dealing with the DMV, but worse?) Then it was back to downtown LA for the apostile. That was all a real pain I must say. Trying to do this all with a toddler and a newborn in tow wasn’t an easy feat. And on top of all this driving around, it turns out the downtown LA office was right smack in the center of the Occupy LA movement. Oh but that’s not all… our timing couldn’t have been more perfect because we were also right in the midst of the reading of the verdict for the Conrad Murray trial. Unbelievable! Here are some of the pics I snapped while in the thick of things.
Occupy LA
Screaming crowd as guilty verdict was read in Conrad Murray trail.
It was insane… there was so much activity and traffic, not to mention all the helicopters and news crews! What are the chances?
So… back to the process of consulate paperwork. OK, now that we had the seals that we needed, all we had to do was fill out the paperwork for the consulate (the easiest part) and take everything in to our appointment along with cash. I found it strange that the consulate only accepted cash, and only cash in the exact amount– meaning they will not give any change back whatsoever. I’m not sure why this is. Anyhow, my visa was free and the two passports for the girls added up to $226.20. We were there about 45 minutes and now all we have to do is go back and pick up the documents! (Breath – glad that’s all over with!) And now we have one more thing to cross off our move-to-Italy list… a list that oddly seems to be getting bigger rather than smaller!
Next up: get our cat a microchip so she can enter Italia!
