Hey everyone! I thought I’d do a little blog post and update on our Italian adventure. I know most of you aren’t military or familiar with military (OCONUS) overseas moves, so I thought I’d give you a little peek into our crazy world right now.
The very first thing we did was get our health screening done. This is basically Army’s way of making sure that you have adequate health care where you are located if you need specialists or long-term care.
And it’s a LOT of paperwork.
This was the paperwork required for all of us. We convinced our PCM to see us all at once. Which is either brilliant or the stupidest idea ever. We were there for around 3 hours.
At this point we were pretty much on standstill. Why you might ask?
Well, we didn’t have any orders. At all. For a long time. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.
We needed to do orders in order to do anything else for this PCS. PCS is another military acronym. It means permanent change of station.
In the interim we were assigned a sponsor. This is when you are assigned a soldier who is already in Italy. He assists us with the move/transition and any issues we might have. Our sponsor is a dear friend of ours from our time with the Ranger Regiment at Ft. Benning. We are so excited and blessed to have them helping us.
While we were waiting for our orders, I started cleaning and downsizing and purging. Italy has smaller quarters, lack of closet space and the voltage there is 220 vs. 110 here.
We also had our passport photos taken while we were waiting. We ended up having Sadie’s retaken due to the hair in her face. We made sure to take a headband. 🙂
Finally we got our orders but here’s a fun tidbit. At first we weren’t assigned to travel with J.
The Army was saying that we could join him once he found quarters for us. We are expecting that to take a couple of months.
Let’s just say that we got that changed. Pretty sure me traveling to Italy with 4 kids by myself isn’t even possible.
Once we got our orders, we applied for a no/fee government passport. Expedited, of course. Holy last minute. After the passport is sent, we will apply for our soggiorno.
Sidenote: Included in this time period was a super awesome incident where I realized I didn’t have a birth certificate to submit for my passport.
Luckily I have a wonderful mama who drove to Austin that day, waited in line, and overnighted the BC to me. LOVE her.
Next we had our yard sale.
Here’s how the shipping process works. This Monday they will come pick up our unaccompanied shipment.This is pretty much and “express” shipment of things you will need if you get a house early and need things to tide you over until your HHG (household goods) arrive.
I honestly don’t see the point of this. We are planning to still be in the hotel when this shipment would arrive. We’ve heard multiple people say “take your time finding a house. you don’t want to be stuck somewhere you don’t love”.
But just in case we are putting these things in our unaccompanied baggage on Monday: linens,silverware,pots/pans,towels,toys,books,crock pot (220 v),kids bikes,a few crafting items,laundry basket.
There are other, better ideas to get the things we need early (and actually to be able to access them):
shipping things to weeks in advance to our overseas po box/address (which we already have).
taking the maximum free baggage on our overseas flight (with orders this is around four bags/boxes per person…which is twenty four bags for us…OMG).
Moving on…the other 2 shipments are:
1.HHG (household goods)- basically everything else in our house. They are coming to take this the week of june 17-21.
2.Storage- anything we do not want to take with us. We will be using this for our washer/dryer, refrigerator,china,large tools, tool chest, random storage.
The exception to this is all of my scrapbooks. I plan on leaving them with family in the states. I just can’t chance it any other way.
A few random details.
1. We will be flying into Marco Polo airport in Venice.
2. Shipping our vehicle (they ship one, we are selling Jimmy’s) has turned out to be a huge PITA. It’s amazing the amount of paperwork/authorization it takes. Getting a note from Honda Financial (since we are still paying the van off) has been a long process too. J will drive the van to New Jersey to get it shipped. It has to be detailed, have 1/4 or less tank of gas, and he has to have seven copies of our orders. I had no idea it was so complicated!
3. I made sure to get an International Driver’s License until I can get my Italian Driver’s License. You get one at AAA for 15 dollars. All you need is a valid US driver’s license.
I feel like the packing/seperating part of this move is going to cause me to lose my mind. Here’s why.
We’ve got:
unaccompanied goods
storage
household goods
things to send to our po box
things to take in our luggage.
My mom is flying in Wednesday the 19th. She is flying back to TX on Saturday the 22nd with the big girls. This will give them some special time in Waco, and also two less kiddos for us to drive to TX on our roadtrip.
So I also have to pack for that.
Lastly, we will be spending several weeks in TX before we head to Italy. I must pack for that.
The other thing making my brain explode is the logistics of getting our car ships. We have to rent a car to get to Tx. What about the car seats? Do we ship them in the van and rent them with the vehicle to get to TX? What will we use when we get there?
I think I’m slowly going insane.
I have to remind myself that this is what is waiting for us once we make it there.
I haven’t even mentioned the learning a new language thing. No worries.
I know these words.
pazzo (crazy)
vino (wine)
formaggio (cheese)
vorrei prenotare un tavolo per sei persone (i’d like to reserve a table for six people).
What more do I need?
Arrivederci!
xoxo
S
You’ve got all the words you need! 😉 My parents did this to France & Belgium twice when we were kids. I really don’t think I appreciated how much hard work, planning and decision making my sweet parents did. You sound super organized and it will be glorious once you are settled!
It still pazzo to me how close we are going to be in just over a month. I swear, if we do venture that far into Italy for a day trip, we are so meeting up with the Howell’s for vino and formaggio.
p.s. will your same iPhone work in Italy? You know, for texting?
Bet your bottom dollar I’ll be visiting once you are settled!!!!!! Good excuse to visit my cousin and see the sites!
Andiamo al bar. This you need to know. It means, lets go to the bar. Have a safe trip and I’m sure you will love Italy and Italy will love you.
Hugs, Svala in Iceland (a long time follower of your blog)
Hey Stephanie – we are in the EXACT SAME boat. I’m slowly losing my mind. Things just keep getting thrown at us and new hurdles keep getting in the way. We got passports, but we’d never heard of no-fee passports. No one told us about health screenings until yesterday. Now they’re saying we won’t be able to fly with Chris to Germany because of these setbacks. Flying to Germany with two babies, a cat, and dog, by myself? Heeeeeck no! But we may not have a choice! Anyway, trying to stay positive and remember the adventures that await, just like you! One day at a time, that’s all we can do!
OMG I wouldn’t know where to start if I was going to move my whole family to another country so far away. It would be like us packing up and moving all our stuff to US. You are a brave woman!!
Can’t wait to follow your adventure!
Stephanie – you may not think so, but reading through this you are VERY on of things. 🙂 We’ve gone back and forth across the ocean 3 times, so I know how it goes, and it looks like you are coming along nicely. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know if you need any tips.
RE: car seats. We PCS’d from CT to Austria (embassy duty) and shipped our car out of New Jersey as well. If I recall, we couldn’t have car seats in our car for shipment. Double check on that because I may be wrong. It’s a pain because it’s one more thing to haul, but it might be worth it to just keep your own car seats with you through the entire process.
One of my favorite OCOCNUS PCS tips: Keep a corkscrew in your luggage – you’re going to need it! And in Italy, you’re going to have access to plenty of good, cheap wine.
Another word that works wonders in Italia is “ciao”.
I guess I thought you would be down in Naples/Napoli, but that would only be if ya’ll were Navy?
I hope you have a wonderful time– I spent one summer in college in Catanzaro (down in the “arch” near the sea) and LOVED it. Beautiful weather, beautiful views, wonderful food and friendly residents– I dream about going back someday.
My brother and his wife are in the same process as you– he finished some training at Ft Leonard Wood yesterday and they are heading to Camp Casey, South Korea, in a few weeks. I think their household goods packout is Monday or Tuesday.
You are so on top of it. We are PCSing in a few weeks. I feel like I have so much to do. I can’t imagine moving OCONUS. We had friends just move to Italy, they took their cars seats and a stroller with them on the plane. I’m almost certain they are free. It’s a little more to haul at first but you will always have their car seats after make sure to put a corkscrew in your bag, you will need it!
Exactly in the same boat as we PCS to England for three years. EFMP paperwork, no-fee passports, Visas (required by the UK), hold baggage, storage, yard sale (made $1,100.00!), HHGs, selling two cars, “interviewing” British independent schools via VTC, buying 220 appliances, trying to line up a house, etc. Bonus! I’m doing the entire process by myself while hubby is still in Afghanistan! Good Luck!! Because I really do know exactly how you feel!
Wow, after reading this, I’m wondering g how you’re keeping it all straight?! Good luck with everything!!
I had a hard enough time moving 100 miles north… staying in the same state… worrying only about myself. You are a superwoman in my eyes!
Stephanie,
Amazing! What a huge amount of work and organizing but I know you are thinking of the end result! I spent two weeks in Italy and loved it! So excited to see it again through your family’s eyes and voices on the blog!
God bless!
Thanks so much, Rose!
This is happening. Soon.
YES!
Yes. That phrase is SO necessary. Thanks so much, sweet friend!
PAIGE! OH NO! I wish I could have talked to you first. If you need ANYTHING at all, please please email me!
Brave? Or insane? HAHAHA! xo
Kerry- Seriously…thank you so much for the encouragement. It is much needed and much appreciated right now. xoxo
ive totally been there. you are pretty on top of it all. when we shipped our van to korea we were able to leave the car seats strapped into the vehicle during shipment. when we got there we pretty much relied on taxies for all our travel, so the kids sat in our laps. not ideal but we managed. they also might have some for temporary loan from ACS or whoever runs the loan closet. but considering you will need your car seats in the states for the few weeks before you leave my suggestion is picking up some cheap second hand ones to use in the states and sending your good ones in your vehicle.
Yes…Army is stationed in Vicenza. Good luck to your brother and please thank him for his service! xo
Thanks, Kirtley! Good luck with your PCS! xoxo
Oh girlfriend…I feel your pain. Sending you SO much love. xo
Lists. Lists upon lists and lists upon lists. And more lists. xoxo
Thanks, Ally. No superwoman. You just gotta do what you gotta do! xo
I can’t WAIT to blog about Italy! xoxo
That brings back so many memories!!
We did all that when we moved to Germany (speaking of – make sure you accompany Jimmy there when you can, it is so beautiful, clean and full of history – we loved it!!).
Where you have such a great advantage is that you’ll get to shop at the Commissary on base. Since we were with Hewlett-Packard, we lived totally among the people, and sometimes I just wanted peanut butter and Cheerios for my kids!! (long story about how I ended up doing it 🙂 ).
I’m so excited for you!!!
This is pretty much the plan at this point. Thank you so much for your insight, Kristy! xo
I can’t wait to experience Germany, Janell! Have a lovely Saturday! xo
We did this insane PCS to and from Doha, Qatar a few years ago. We were there for 3 years. Deep. Breaths. At least it’s Italy!!!
WOW! I had no idea how much work that was!
But it’s pretty darn cool, too.
YOU CAN DO IT! Carry on, Warrior!
Reading your blog I see that some things never change with the military. We went through this same process more than 30 years ago when we were moving to Naples, Italy. Talk about bad timing–we arrived there a week before Christmas with 2 young children! Those were also the times when there were no cell phones, computers or internet. But you know what– our family treasures those 3 years we lived there. Great memories!
I just thought of another tip, and I don’t want to scare you, but keep this in perspective.
When we moved here (Stuttgart, Germany) from Austria just about 3 years ago, we were in temp lodging waiting for housing. Thankfully, our HHG’s was sitting in a warehouse in Austria because we were doing a door-to-door move because we were moving within Europe. At about the same time we got our housing and were receiving our HHG, one of the warehouses here in our area had a huge fire and everything was lost! I forget how many families were affected (maybe 100 or so), but they lost everything!!!! It was a complete nightmare. Now, this is rare and I had never heard of it happening before, but it was a wake call for me. When you move overseas and then back to CONUS, your personal belongings are in the hands of other people for a really, really long time. So the tip? INVENTORY INVENTORY INVENTORY!!! Have photos/videos of everything. The claims process was apparently a nightmare for the families here. The family who lives above me here in housing lost their advanced shipment only, thank God, but she said they were totally under compensated because they couldn’t completely prove what they had in that shipment. She has given me very sage advice: take photos of EVERYTHING. For example, don’t take a picture of every single book individually, but make sure the spines of books can be seen and take a photo of the bookshelf so that you can see book titles. Open cabinets and take a photo of your dishes to show quantities and then flip one over and take a picture of the brand name for proof.
I surely hope I didn’t scare you. Before this warehouse fire, I had never heard of anything so terribly drastic. It was absolutely awful to see people go through. They had to hear over and over, “It’s only stuff,” but for some families it was an entire career’s worth of memories. Thankfully, overseas military communities are super tight and people came out of the woodwork to donate or buy things for people to use until they could recoup (only some of) money to purchase new things.
Just be prepared!!! It sounds like you’ve thought a little about this already as you are planning to leave your scrapbooks in the States with family.
I just thought of another tip – albeit silly. Maybe.
If you love Mexican food, get your fill of it in Texas because it is just NOT the same over here. You can find mexican restaurants (at least you can in Germany), but it just isn’t the same. As someone who loves, loves, loves Mexican food, it’s frustrating. I call what they serve here Ger-Mexican. HA!
It sounds like so much work, but so exciting! My friend lived in Germany for a few years, her husband is in the Army. She loved it! She didn’t want to leave to come back to the US. Good idea leaving your scrapbooks with family. I bet your parents and Jimmy’s parents will enjoy looking at the albums when they are missing you all. Do your families live near each other, or will you be traveling in Texas? So excited for you! Can’t wait to see your pictures and read about your adventures in Italy! I have several friends traveling to Italy on vacation this summer! Love the suitcases!
thank you for all the information about this. I’m not military or American but I was curious about the moving overseas process. You should keep all those lists for a scrapbook page – just tuck them into an envelope when you’re done with them.
best of luck to you all.
Sending best wishes & positive thoughts for a good move and pre-move time with family!
I hope you got to keep some of your flea market treasures – even if in storage.
Were those suitcases ALL your own?? 😉
oh girl!!! i about last my mind moving down the street last summer!!! i can’t imagine! but i KNOW you can do this and God will be there giving you the strength and sanity every step of the way!! one day at a time! excited for you all!
I hate the planning and prep of the trip, but yes, stay focused on the destination! 🙂 Praying for peace and calm in the midst of all the crazy! So excited for you!
You. Are. Amazing! You can totally do this. My head hurts just reading it so the fact that you are still standing and not walking around, drooling and muttering to yourself means you will be okay. You guys are going to have an amazing adventure. God bless!
Just seeing how close you will be to Slovenija makes me wish you could pack me up w/ your HHG so I could go. LOL!
My Dad was in the Army, and we were stationed in Landsthul, Germany so feel your pain about having to ship different things at different times, shipping a car, etc. Lots of luck to y’all! 🙂
Still want to meet you. thinking venice may be a good place to do so.
Stephanie
Everyone is right, take your time looking for the right place. And don’t worry about the cost, you and the children will receive Per Diem. When we PCSed to Germany we did not know we were getting money to eat out and all the costs that accumulate when you are living in the hotel. We accepted temp quarters, 4 children and 2 adults in a 2 bedroom apartment for 4 months. Only after we took the apartment we learned how much money we lost and my sanity. Living in Europe, has been the best experience that my family has ever had. After 7 years we are about to PCS back to the States, we will all miss Europe and I think part of our hearts will always be in Germany and Belgium. The close knit military communities OCUNUS are amazing!!
Holy cannoli! I couldn’t do that with 0 kids!!! But it’s like they say “I can’t do this, but I’m doing it anyway” I cannot WAIT to see the shenangans H to the 6th power get into Italian style. Seriously, you’re going to find rad flea markets! and the food!!! and you’re all gonna be cultured. They’ll love you’re southern accent.
You’re on top of it all, seriously, it will all work out. And if you forget something on your way to Texas, there are plenty of stores along the way. If you forget something in Italy, also, plenty of stores. And you’ll have your first “thing I purchased in Italy” checked off your list.
I also got an international drivers license when I moved overseas. I was so proud of it, couldn’t wait to use it. I think when I first showed it to someone they might have laughed at me and asked for my stateside license. The good news is that it was only $15, and it’s totally scrappable. 🙂
I don’t want to add to your list, but in my work, I have a lot to do with childrens carseats.
You might want to check the Safety Standards for Italy/ Europe, to make sure your American carseats will
be legal for use there.
Travel safely.
Wow! The company Andrew works for has companies in France and Germany, as well as a few places that we would never live. But Andrew would love to live in France if we get the chance. I’m quite afraid that they would laugh this southern girl out of the country! And then with six kids! The thought makes my head spin.
So happy for you though. I’ve always wanted to travel Italy. Who knows, maybe this post will come in handy one day. Keep us updated. It’s fun to live through you!
Love you!
I need a nap after reading this — I’m exhausted FOR you!
Loved reading about all the details involved in your upcoming move to Italy. I look forward to reading all about your family’s adventure!
You can do it! Get ready for the time of your life!
maggieb!
You are amazing! Enjoy your wonderful adventure!
Where’s the bathroom? (I made sure when I went to Quebec, that I could ask that in French 🙂
Oh Steph, you are doing so well with all of this! I would seriously have had a break down by now. But those sweet little faces would keep me going as I’m sure they are for you.
Can’t wait to hear all about your first few days there!
Your lives are a great adventure. It will all pay off and you will have many blessings. I am new to your blog and look forward to following you. Thank you for your family’s service. Blessings
Oh girl i feel you. We moved from the UK to New Zealand just short of 5 years ago and OMG i wanted to pull my hair out. We had to do all the medicals, get working visas, find somewhere to stay, sell our cars (we never brought ours) pack the house up and also pack all the clothes we would need for when we arrived in NZ. We were allowed 2 pieces of luggage each so we pretty much just took all the clothes we could. everything else went in our container (it took 5 months to arrive and once it did it was mostly damaged!!. We just rented a car seat while we waited on ours coming over and that saved trying to carry them on the plane with the rest of luggage and pram. I was actually doing not bad, like well i was pretty organised up to a point with a zillion list of things to do. But i will never forget the night before lots of friends appeared to say bye which was so sweet but i just had sooooooooo much stuff to do and already had a leaving party so i had said my good byes. Once they left I was trying to fit last minute things in our luggage, and weighing them and crying because I could not get all the stuff i wanted in there, and i had to leave some bits as our container had left etc etc. We were up to 2am just stressing and trying to do it and then I had to clean the house before we left at 7am for our 36 hour flights!!!!
Another nightmare we had was we used our cards over here to buy stuff and the banks in the UK put a block on them as they thought it was fraudulant, well this was over Xmas and NY and with the holidays it took forever to sort out, we had like $50 to our name and just bought a car that our banks in the UK would not transfer the cash for LOL looking back I do not know how we got through it. That said you have the army to help you out, you will move to a fabulous community so do not worry, it will all work out. And honestly I would do it again, moving here has been the best thing we did, we love it and are so happy, but yep I will do it again, Australia i think (though Gary has been offered a job in Italy so we may end up there instead). The one thing i have learned though is for us we will sell all our furniture and only send personal stuff and just buy again. I am so excited for you as I know you will love the move and it will only bring you even closer as a family.
hugs girl
Oh my gosh–that is SO much work!! Kudos to you for staying on top of everything! Can’t wait to hear about your Texas trip and of course the big move! Are you planning to be in Italy for a few years?
This is going to be such a special adventure for your beautiful family! Hang in there and I just take lots of deep breaths. It will all work out. I cannot wait to see photos of your new home.
My daughter’s name is Vincenza! Close to were you are moving. Her grandmother was Italian. Have fun!
Stephanie, if you are flying into Houston, I can have two car seats for you. Just let me know. Seriously.
I wouldn’t take more than 2 bags per person and one carry on per person…just because you can take more doesn’t mean you should. Use the UAB….we got our house here in Germany two weeks after we got here and our UAB showed up a couple of weeks before HHG. Save your money on the shipping….it takes forever for mail to get to Europe and the mailrooms only have so much space….they have started shipping things back to the States if you don’t pick it up in a timely manner. You’d be surprised at how little you need at first. You can leave a car seat in the car or just bring the ones for the twins…here is the website about cars https://www.whereismypov.com/ . Don’t stress moving overseas isn’t that bad…this is our thrid tour to Germany. It seems like a lot, but at least your husband can help you out. There are ladies who have to fly with children and pets by themselves. 🙂
Oh sweet Army life! We did this with two kids, first the packing,visiting with relatives, cross-country trip, dock strike, and on and on! But it was so worth it , to expand your mind and heart with new people and new experiences! The world is a beautiful place. And you are very well equipped to handle it dear girl!
What an awesome, crazy adventure! Wishing you safe travels and many blessings!
Thanks for your reply, Wanda. I can assure you that we aren’t planning to clog up mail rooms and selfishly take too much luggage. And, as always, I am very grateful J is with us. There have been plenty of times he hasn’t and I’m sure that I would survive without him. I certainly hope you didn’t read my post as if I was writing it in an entitled way…
I can’t even imagine but your humor seems to be keeping you sane. I laughed so hard at the picture of all those suitcases. That would be a sight to see. What an amazing adventure you will all have. TOGETHER.
I love that they pair you up with someone who’s already there! Is that just if you’re PCS is international? I’d never heard of that before! And how cool that you guys already know someone stationed there. A friendly face!
I am so insanely excited for you. And so ready to talk Karl into changing our 10 year anniversary plans to Italy instead of a cruise 🙂
Also, about the scrapbooks. Is there an Archiver’s near your TX family? We’re scanning and saving scrapbook pages to digital media now in all our stores. With all the places Jimmy’s work takes you guys it might not be a bad idea to get your layouts (or maybe just your very favorites) so that you’ll always have a copy of them!
One thing you did not cover is school. Where will your girls go to school??? I bet you are going to have some amazing scrapbooks after this!
Jennifer
Wow. I think I would be sitting in the corner crying if I had to tackle all this. But once you get there, it will be glorious. How exciting for you all!!!! I work on an AF base, and getting gov’t passports can take FOREVER. My friend had to fly out to Japan 3-4 weeks after her hubby b/c it took so long. So I’m relieved that you have that part done already.
No….I wasn’t reading it that way. Just letting you know a few things that have changed since our last tour of Germany. I just figured you can save some of that shipping money for real passports, so that you can travel. 🙂 You won’t be able to drive on post with an international license, but you can drive everywhere else. 🙂 Just trying to provide more information. The mroe you know before you go….the better. I’m sorry you took it wrong. I just read your post today….you may want to see what you can and can’t do work wise….they have cracked down on HHB here in Germany…I odn’t know if web site stuff is included, but it is better to find out before rather than later. Those SOFA’s can be tough. Have a safe trip.
what an adventure!!
xo
wishing you and your family good luck for/with your move!
Enjoy your time in Italy! What a wonderful opportunity to experience a foreign country.
I lived in the US now for 15 years (arrived with a suitcase – very easy move), but am a native of Germany.
We just moved from the west coast to the east coast – I can’t imagine the hassle of moving to another country!
You are absolutely amazing. I have no idea how you’re juggling all the logistics! I don’t know if this applies to you but when we moved to Australia, we found that we couldn’t use our carseats from Canada because they have different laws and regulations here. Lucky we found out before we moved, would’ve been a pain to lug it all the way across the world to find out we couldn’t use them!!
oh my! i never realized how much goes into military travel for families! but keep thinking of how amazing it’s going to be to live in italy and i’m sure you will make it through! i mean you have 4 kids so that already makes you a superwoman, right! 🙂
Moving with the Army is SOOO much fun isn’t it (sarcasm is present!). YOu are a saint and a trooper and after all this J owes you a spa day!!! We JUST got our things from AK, 7 weeks later, 5 broken things later, and 15 billion scratches on our new walls…. FUN!
You should ask if your girls can have a sponsor. Some of the DODDS schools/CYS programs, pair up the children to help them adjust to a new school and duty station.
As to the SOFA agreement, every country has a different one. Laws are different, in Germany we could claim all VAT and get it rebated, not in Belgium, in Germany we paid no German Taxes, in Belgium, we are taxed on our cars,and in Germany we had a fuel allowance per vehicle, in Belgium it is per family, but in Belgium we get a tax rebate for children every year, this year for my 4 children I got 1600Euro. So things can be different in Italy, in regards to taxes, fuel, home based businesses, vehicles, drivers licenses and so on.
It sounds worse than it is, just go with the flow and remember you are not in the US anymore. Many Americans come over and the first thing out of their mouth is “but that is not how we do it in the States” When you are overseas about 4-6 months, you start to laugh every time you hear a newcomer use those words.
One more phrase to suggest (hope its not a duplicate):
Where’s the toilet?
Good luck and have fun! I’m a little jealous of the adventure – I need to work on putting experiencing new places back in my own life.
I LOVE seeing Cate and Lucy in Ellie’s clothes. So glad they got a good home. Wishing you all the best in your adventure. You’ll get through all this craziness with grace…and a little wine 🙂
Just take a breath! You will do GREAT. Your girls will have the opportunity of a life time and will get to learn Italian in the meantime. God bless you and your family and safe travels. I cannot wait to read stories and see pictures on the blog from Italy.
Wow, LOTS to do!! Thanks for sharing all the info. I’ve done several govt moves (which have their own pains) but never international.
What a huge undertaking!! Such an awesome, amazing experience… but all.that.packing? I don’t envy you at all! 😉
Oh Stephanie, I am feeling slightly short of breath reading that. Yikes! But what a wonderful, wonderful adventure you are all going on. You will have the memories for the rest of your lives. Italy! VENICE!! Wow. It is going to be amazing. Good luck with the packing.
Stephanie! Eiric and I just moved to Houston, Texas yesterday. It was chaotic, as we flew from Norway with our cat and 6 suitcases to get here. BUT, you CLEARLY beat us in toughest travel ever! I can’t imagine how stressed you are! I wish I could ask you about Houston. My gosh, this city is a LOT different from my hometown Roanoke, Virginia. Getting to our hotel last night (jet-lagged and totally confused) was the scariest experience! I can’t wait to hear more about your move to Italy! Such a great experience for all of you! So happy for you! My best wishes to you all on your journey to your new home! 🙂 xo
P.S. Texas is HOT!!! What a difference from Norway…it’ll take a while to adjust! 🙂
God bless you on this incredible undertaking and journey! Yikes! Thank goodness for vino!
I currently live in Naples and have for 5 years. We will be in Naples for two more years before we move. I frequently travel to Vicenza as my daughter competes for the swim team in Naples against Vicenza twice a year usually. In Naples for your drivers license in Italy you take a very short test and they give you a card. Not very difficult at all. They do this during your first week of orientation. I would love to meet sometime and talk scrapbooking. Italy is wonderful, but being in Naples tends to be challenging. The wine and food is amazing though.
Is this the only army base in Italy?
Yes. There is an Air Force base in Aviano and Navy Bases in Sicily and Naples. But this is the only Army Post…oh there might be a little one (Darby) in Pisa now that I think of it!