The Overland, Adelaide to Melbourne

Somehow I managed to enjoy my freshly-nuked bacon and cheese croissant, despite its limp, deflated appearance. I think it was because I was on a train, which is fun, rather than a plane, which is not. Maybe the simple fact of having a steady blood-flow through your legs makes things taste better?

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise, Amboise

French breakfasts are typically carbs (bread, croissants, etc) and confiture (jam), with coffee or hot chocolate, of course. But sometimes you get lucky, and boiled eggs make an appearance. So we were very impressed with the breakfast spread at Hotel "Le Clos d'Amboise", 27 Rue Rabelais, Amboise, Tel +33 2 47 30 10 20. All the usual french stuff... plus ham and eggs. Very stylish little breakfast room, too.

Boulangerie Saint-Louis, Paris

Paris has much to recommend it, not least the fact that whenever you are feeling a bit peckish, no matter where you are, there will be a half-decent boulangerie within spitting distance. Just pop in, pick up a croissant (and maybe a few other treats), and munch your way happily down the street. This croissant, for example, was just the kick I needed after a few hours stomping across Paris. It wasn't very buttery, but it was very good. I love the way the light, fluffy layers of pastry squish together as you take each bite.

Boulangerie Artisanale Pain d'Epis, Paris

If you like your pain au raisins loaded with fruit, then the Boulangerie Artisanale Pain d'Epis is the place to go, 63 Avenue Bosquet, 75007 Paris, Tel +33 1 45 51 75 01. Personally, I prefer a light spinkling of sultanas in my pain au raisins, so this was a bit too fruity for me. But I know plenty of people who like it fruity, so I'm sure this would appeal to them. The croissant was superb. Light and slightly flaky on the outside, and very soft and buttery in the middle. I tend to eat my croissants as they come (without any additional butter or jam), so the more built-in butter, the better.

Croissants, Rue Cler

The boulangerie diagonally opposite Le Cafe Du Marche in the middle of Rue Cler does a nice buttery croissant, which was equal to anything I had in Paris. Does anyone know how much butter and fat there is in an average croissant? If so, please don't tell me.

Cathay Pacific CX 263 to Paris

For some strange reason, Cathay decided to add corn to their breakfast spread of omelette, sausage, bacon and tomato. That's different. I also got a croissant, some fruit and a tub of yoghurt. The coffee wasn't great.

Bookplate, Canberra

You can actually get a half-decent coffee at Bookplate these days, which is quite handy if you're dozing off at the National Library. But what kind of stupid name is Bookplate? And why do library cafes always have such dorky names? They used to call the place Chapters. What next? Biblio's Bistro? Dewey's Diner? The Catalog Cafe? Gutenberg's?

Balgownie Retreat, Yarra Valley

This morning, I had a 3 course breakfast. Not just muesli. Not just eggs. Not just pastries. I had the whole lot: bircher muesli with berries; poached eggs and extras; and a couple of little baby croissants. You won't go hungry at the Balgownie Estate Vineyard Retreat and Spa, Melba Highway, Yarra Glen, Tel +61 3 9730 0700.



The Bircher was very good, with quite a nutty flavour. The poached eggs were close to perfect. The extras were... in a word... small: one little pork snag; a mini hash brown; a few mushrooms; a tiny serve of spinach; and half a roast tomato. The croissants were also small, but good. But with so many courses to get through, small serves are good serves.



The Balgownie Yarra Valley Retreat is an excellent spot for a love-in, which is exactly why we were there. Get away from the office, gaze up at the blue sky, then lock yourself in a room and talk about blue sky, business models, monetisation of eyeballs, and other such crazy talk. If the buzzword bingo gets out of control, make everyone watch Startup.com. We did. It's a cack.

Whether it's worth driving all the way here specifically for breakfast, I'm not so sure. It is good. But it's by no means cheap.

16/20 "bircher and berries"