A scarcity of Italian bakeries.

I've been reprimanded. For bringing back too many goodies from the grocery store. Such as high calorie pastries. But when I'm in a foreign country, I like to explore new things. Especially edible things. And I'm trying to educate my Italian true love. She doesn't even know the difference between a Bismarck and a doughnut. Shameful. I've discovered that many Italians are semi-literate at best, when it comes to baked goods. They are very knowledgeable about pastas. They can reel off the names of hundreds of different pastas that they've tasted. And I'm told that every pasta is a good pasta. Of coursre, I'm willing to be educated about Italian food. I might even concede that it's the best in the world. Even eclipsing German food. Thought I'd never make that concession or confession. But I gotta be honest about one thing. Italians have a glaring shortcoming. So far I've discovered only one full-fledged bake shop in Carbonia, a city of 30,000. That's a disgrace. The Germans have bake shops in every block and on most corners. --Jim Broede