Dear God, why is there no salt in Tuscan bread?

...Because, back in the day when people were poor and tasty flavoured stuff was waaaaaay too expensive, bread was the staple diet. Since salt was expensive...poor people couldnt afford it in large quantities so didn't use it in their bread (which, apparently, they could eat a whole loaf in one sitting...one person...one loaf). So with their large quantities of unsalted bread, they had a jar or container of something they can use to flavor in small quantities...salt with herbs, that sort of thing.

I had my "Intro to Italian Culture and Cuisine" last night...it was...um...DELICIOUS. We didnt acutally cook anything, but got a few recipies (that seem like they need too much effort or are too complicated for quick meals...) and we got to try food that the instuctor/lecturer made and brought in for us.

She made lasagna (meat and veggie), salad with beans and smoked herring (which i picked out cause i wasn't a fan), clementines/tangerines (she called them manderins though...but it hink she was refering to the Italian name for tangerine cause she said at somepoint that they're not manderines....i think), halved pears with marscapone cheese and walnut stuffing (interesting and mild), fonttuna (i think thats how it was spelled).

Fonttuna is basically toasted bread with olive oil and herbed salt. Bruscetta is toast with other stuff on top like tomatos or something.

Overall...very very very tasty. The olive oil was the best...SHE MADE IT HER SELF AT HOME IN NOVEMBER! it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. A medium green colour, thick and you could taste the olives. Oh man. I was ready to drink the jar of it!

She gave us a few names of good olive oil to buy and use here, and a few other things like ready made pesto and lasagna pasta.

I have switched into intermediate photography. My first assignment is to go shoot at Piazza Romana, which is across, on the other side of the river (Arno). I could take the bus or walk. I might walk...it's not that far. I'm willing and able, so why not?

Tomorrow (Thursday) is what I like to call "hellday" - nonstop classes from 9am-7:30pm. Literally nonstop...Illustration ends at 12 and Italian begins at 12...I and a few others, have to leave Illustration a few minutes early to speed walk back to the main building to get to class on time. Italian until 12:55, then at 1pm - Digital Multimedia until 4. 4:30-7:30 I have etching.

So far so good though, I think my classes will be fun; Illustration seems more demanding than I was expecting but whatever, I'll deal.

More pictures will come. Hopefully there's also a place I can scan photographs from my class once we start printing.

Arrivederci