B: Bakery

It seems when I was a child, I was often sick with colds or ear infections. The only good thing about going to the doctor in town was that on the way home, my mom always stopped by the city bakery.

I still remember the feeling that I got when we walked inside; the smell of the freshly baked goods and the long display case of cookies and pastries that we walked past trying to decide what I wanted. Mom always bought a loaf or two of their special bread and I got to choose whatever I wanted. I was the sick one, after all.

It was so hard to decide, especially if there was a holiday coming up and they had themed cookies for it.My favorite thing to get were these huge chocolate bon-bons. I bet they stood three to four inches tall, or at least to a little kid it seemed like that. They were at least big enough that I had to use a fork to eat one. The bottom half was a chocolate cake and the top half was cream filling that came to a point. The whole thing was covered with a hardened chocolate sauce. Oh my gosh, they were heaven.

The other thing I remember was going there ever year to order my birthday cake. Hanging all along the wall behind that long display case were sample tops of decorated cakes to choose from. I always wondered if they used real icing on those displays because some of them looked a little old.

As with many things from our childhood, the city bakery is no longer there. It's not gone completely, but moved to a new location. I still stop by when I'm in town to buy a couple loaves of bread for mom and I and it's still as good as ever. What's not the same is the ambiance of the old building. Instead, there are tables and chairs for people to sit and eat breakfast or lunch. No decorated cake tops either. You chose from pictures in a book now. The chocolate bon-bons? Well, they're gone, too. While the baked good are still great, it's just not the same bakery anymore.

CarolA - Z April Blog Challenge