Venezia (Part Due)

If you really want to leave your American-influenced culture behind, trade your savoury bacon and egg breaky for espresso with your sugar and biscuits and pastries for wake-up time.

Funnily enough, these cross biscuit/cake treats were purchased from Billa Supermarket - one of three GF items sitting on the corner shelf.

Celi ai frutti rossi are little strawberry jam tarts with an intricate cross-hatched pastry top, and are great considering they're prepackaged.

'Celi' is the brand, 'ai frutti rossi' is the product. A picture of the food is on the front of the packet, similar to the pretty one above.

From now on, it should be a very BUZY BAKEHOUSE

I'm frothing at the mouth, my heart is beating faster than the moment I found out I got my dream job, I'm short of breath (signs of anxiety?) and my legs are trembling.

Have I described enough how momentous this casual Sunday afternoon transformed to become?

I have stumbled across in absolute spontaneity and delight, a Gluten-free HEAVEN. Right here in an inner Sydney suburb. A place where all your drool-dripping-from-the mouth-in-temptation dreams become reality. Where every forbidden fruit has been carefully thought of and then produced, in true Euro Bakery style - edible, delicious, and gluten-free.

So if you're thinking - 'Aimeé, cut the crap, I refuse to read anymore babble', here is the low-down on what you can actually now eat freely here in Sydney Australia, thanks to Lilla at Buzy Bakehouse. The poor woman experiences serious food intolerances beyond a regular coeliac disease sufferer (she can't even eat potatoes or corn!) But she's a smart cookie (gee-free, that is) who has found cooking solutions to all of her problems and has allowed us to all enjoy her secrets too. Thank you!

"I think I'll indulge"
♥ Croissants ♥ Waffles (I had it with maple syrup - 8/10) ♥ Traditional Italian biscuits (a huge range and totally authentic) ♥ Chocolate brownies ♥ Chocolate, Cheese, Orange or Pavlova Cake (a whole cake or just a slice) ♥ Tiramisu or Creme Brulee cups ♥ So much more!

"Lunch at the bakery, dinner at home"
♥ Meat and vegie pies ♥ Sausage rolls (I'm about to try one now) ♥ Pizza - made up fresh "in 8 minutes" with toppings of your choice ♥ Pizza bases to take home ♥ Quinoa and pumpkin breads ♥ So much more!

Real Italian Arancini Balls - Bolognese, or if you're lucky enough for Lilla's husband to make you - Ricotta and spinach, can be made on weekends if you call a day before.

I was treated nicely and got to try a sneaky sample of Lilla's special chilli crispbread. Warm and with just enough spice, it was one of the tastiest foodstuff I've eaten in yonkers. I will certainly be hassling her to treat all of us to it daily, by offering it on the menu.

So, enough talk. Get there!

Buzy Bakehouse, 124 Queen Street, Woollahra. (02) 9362 0414. http://www.buzybakehouse.com.au

Oh, and by the way, the sausage roll was super!

Carrefour Croissants

Talking about France got me thinking about croissants. I've just adored them... ever since I couldn't eat them.

I haven't had much experience in our version of the pastry. But I did really really enjoy 4 that I gobbled down throughout a day in Barcelona. They were buttery with all the flavours a croissant should have. On the down-side, they were suffering a little in texture but never mind. They made me pretty darn' content.

If you're travelling parts of France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, Colombia, Japan (the list does go on), I'd be interested to know if you find a Carrefour supermarket or their products stocked in other supermarkets. It's meant to be a pretty massive organisation, maybe even the "largest hypermarket chain in the world in terms of size" according to Wikipedia.

I found them in the 'you are different' section down the escalators of a massive supermarket on touristy Las Ramblas, Barcelona. Look out for it, if you're there.

Mmmmm, cwoissan!