tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86030174598410223542024-12-18T19:30:30.920-08:00STORIES FROM TWO CONTINENTSLaura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-58168557934405555892012-02-20T04:43:00.000-08:002012-02-28T07:42:19.908-08:00

Italy's long lasting effect on me includes my now insatiable need for a hit of strong sun with my feet nuzzled into sand and salt left on my lips, at least once a year. In Italy it's something almost every family does each August. It's not only for those with extra $ in their pockets. The beaches that line the coasts of Italy are packed to the fullest with extended families, young couples,

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-9442866639724616032012-01-27T14:04:00.000-08:002012-01-27T14:15:45.841-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted.  Most likely it's because we did yet another move again...this time to Rochester, NY, which is in my opinion a huge improvement from Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh isn't a bad place, it's just too hilly, with rivers and tunnels that cause all sorts of traffic congestion that was sometimes similar to the traffic of Rome.  Hard to believe, but true!&nbsp

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-90491457750953171352011-06-13T07:23:00.000-07:002011-08-02T03:42:05.152-07:00

For most of us who have been fortunate to visit or live in Italy, there are the wonderful cities of Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Naples.  They all have their own special qualities, their own nuttiness, idiosyncracies and uniqueness.  I've never been to Milan, and to be honest for me Florence was over-rated, crawling with tourists and over-priced places. The best memory I have of

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-6622960953681893882011-06-11T11:57:00.000-07:002011-06-11T12:28:40.299-07:00

One of the biggest things I missed while in Italy was my beloved public library. In Italy, there are public libraries, but they don't have the vast amount of resources available like we do here. I've made up for lost time by checking out around twenty books each month. One thing that continues to amaze me is that I can request a book from the entire Carnegie and Allegheny county library system

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-68139862869294407342011-06-11T11:20:00.000-07:002011-06-11T12:29:04.443-07:00

When we are out of our comfort zones, we grow more. It's not easy at all to be away from what we are used to, but we can develop thicker skin, more flexibility, more tolerance, more understanding about people and the world. Our way of doing things is the only way we have ever known. Until we can experience more, other ways of interacting, other ways of doing daily business, other ways of living

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-46658552622882389982011-04-04T13:54:00.000-07:002011-04-04T14:07:24.349-07:00

I'm thinking these days that I've become kind of snooty, which I don't like.  But I have a serious problem.  I can't relate that well to folks who haven't travelled or lived somewhere else.  It's very strange because I used to be without a passport but longing to travel but for $ reasons or whatever reasons I just never left the US more than 2 weeks to Germany when I was 16 and

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-83909382040180945062011-02-11T04:42:00.000-08:002011-04-05T02:49:15.548-07:00

When you walk into a place of business in Italy, either large or small, the first thing you do is say "Buon giorno" and the last thing you say when you leave is "Grazie mille" or "Buona giornata" or some kind of farewell greeting before you go back out into the world.  In particular in places where folks know you, you can easily spend a good half hour before doing anything you intended to do

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-78381263284566411992011-02-11T02:41:00.000-08:002011-04-05T03:43:23.126-07:00

There's a small problem that we can't seem to get used to:  the expectation that we need to be on time to everything.  Now I understand appointments with doctors, and important interviews.  Concerts that start punctually I like a lot.  But it seems strange after living in Italy for 8 years where there is a 15 minute (at least) window that is allowed, agreed upon, in informal

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-13209092370574426122010-08-27T13:42:00.000-07:002010-08-27T14:23:37.767-07:00

Upon arriving in Rome, Italy in August of 2002 (mid-August, more accurately, which is the BEST time to visit Rome since everyone is at the sea but NOT the best time to try to get anything done because everyone is at the sea), after being hand-printed at the local police station (more on this later) and having the police come visit me on a Saturday morning and looking in my closets to make sure I

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-80290647895630651142010-08-27T06:43:00.000-07:002010-10-28T04:17:37.333-07:00

One evening Pier and I returned home late to the apartment in Rome, at around midnight, with a little Luca about 1 year old, exhausted, and Pier's mom, who is probably one of the most dramatic and emotional women I've ever known, aside from my own mother who is by far the most dramatic and emotional woman I've ever known. Pier and I were overly happy from eating a delicious Roman pizza

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-88617505602535574762010-08-25T06:40:00.000-07:002010-08-27T07:04:57.107-07:00

The first time I drove in Rome I started crying.  It was on the GRA, Rome's ring road, with a speed limit of around (I say around because the speed limit, like most things Italian, are negotiable) 75 miles per hour.  The problem is not so much the speed in and of itself, which for me in and of itself is a problem, but add in motorcyles and mopeds zigzagging in front of you and

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-18481164835824570452010-08-24T09:34:00.000-07:002010-08-27T07:06:13.366-07:00

I'm one of those rare folks from the states who actually learned to drive on stick shift and has only driven on stick shift my whole life.  This worked to my advantage when I moved to Italy since it's pretty impossible to find an automatic car anywhere on the entire European continent.  So for the past 8 years in Italy, I drove a little green Ford Fiesta, and I zoomed through the

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603017459841022354.post-71696422821018971902010-08-23T12:33:00.000-07:002010-08-23T12:54:16.048-07:00

Pier and me, Rome Italy Luca at the Pantheon Pier and Luca, at our favorite hangout Sperlonga Luca and Vespa Two weeks into my landing in the states.  Two weeks ago I had finished my eighth year of living in Rome, Italy, with my guy, my six year old son Luca, and 13 year old cat Grace.  I'm originally from New York State, 41 years ago, growing up in the mountainous hills that

Laura Lentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964398829410082733noreply@blogger.com2