Wandering around the Venetian Casino admiring all the ceilings and architecture we stopped to watch the gondolas in the canals. Nearby was a small Bouchon Bakery which I had never heard of. My son informed me it was pretty well known as the best bakery in the country so we decided we had to try something. A chocolate croissant and coffee was the choice to enjoy sitting by the canal and enjoying the views, you could easily imagine yourself in Venice.
The pastry was wonderful, I can see how the reputation was earned. I noticed a cookbook on display and ordered it when I got home. The Bouchon Bakery cookbook is a masterpiece of baking photography, recipes and documentation of historical French baking techniques. You can look at it and just drool for hours. The cookbook is a little unweldy in size but lures you into thoughts you could actually create something this good yourself, if you were willing to do as much work and devote the time to make some of these classic baking creations.