Thursday was one of those days… We through caution to the wind and went to another bakery! 
We have known about Uppercrust Productions — another Euro style bakery in Gainesville Florida — right next door to The Fresh Market which I talked about shortly after arriving in Reddick. For various reasons we have not been here to eat before but we could not leave Florida without checking out this #1 rated bakery in Gainesville — a place that’s been around in Gainesville for 35 year!
I have to say that the pastries here exceed in richness most any patisserie I ever ate in France. 
The U.S. is the land of excess and for sure, the bakers here aim to make their product the crispiest and butteriest product that they can. I’m not sure if that’s actually a good thing — but it surely does taste delish!
Not only will you find scrumptious croissants, they also have a variety of other sweet treats with more or less of a European birthright — everything we saw looked scrumptious but we were careful not to try too many of them
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There are wonderful breads to be sampled as well; artisanal products that might challenge your budget if you become overly infatuated with the veritable gluten smorgasbord available here.
And, if you want to dine al fresco, pretending you’re on the Champs d’Elyse there are outdoor tables and chairs where you can watch the world go by — at a much quieter pace than if you were in France.
Following on our RV ‘shopping’ trip of the previous day we decided to check out a mobile home park that had lots with trailers for sale. It took us about 15 seconds to realize that this particular park was not in our future plans. But it was interesting to see another version of ‘retirement life’ in Florida.
We added to that experience a tour through a couple mobile home dealerships — again, not that we’re actually looking to make a change but to see what’s available in this specific area. 
You may know (or not) that an outfit like, for example, Clayton Homes — which is the largest manufactured home firm in the U.S. — make different models for different markets. The same homes available in Florida are probably not available in Texas and vice versa. Tastes vary and they’re smart enough to capitalize on the desires of their market. So, what we saw here is markedly different from what we saw in S. Texas, in design, size, and options. I find it hard to conceive of our ever taking this step but fact finding is alway part of the due diligence equation and that’s what we’re doing.
We did learn a little more about buying property in Florida. We are definitely not in Wisconsin anymore. The rules and procedures here are very different from what we are accustomed to. But I guess that’s what professionals are for, right?
Anyway… at the end of the day we’re down to two days before starting our return trip north and we’re filling the time with interesting things (to us) while the opportunity affords itself. Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll be here to chat tomorrow.
From the Far Side of '70 
Wow…those RVs are crazy! Three bedrooms?! Hate that you have to walk through the master to get to the bath. And that kitchen…it’s better than the one in our house. I’ve heard of these types of RVs. A mason was telling me about cleaning travertine and granite in an RV. What does all that do to the weight of the vehicle?
Did your bakery have any good pecan sticky buns? I am on a quest for some excellent sticky bins.
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As for weight, some of the rv’s 0′ – 5′ longer than ours can be 10,000 lb heavier with all the new geegaws!
I think Dolce Vita might have a sticky bum… But not sure. For sure we did NOT see any at uppercrust. I dont perceive them as being Eupopean. Could be wrong.
Do you care for travertine? To me it’s too soft for counters.
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I have never seen it used for counters and would never think to use it like that. I have seen it mostly on floors and walls. It’s very porous and chips and has to be filled. Holds dirt in all cracks and crevices and turns gray with age.
I don’t even like granite because it chips, though you cant usually tell by the design, I feel the chips when cleaning. I also don’t like wooden kitchen cabinets because they hold the dirt and over time look terrible…even the high end ones.
When you spend a lot of time cleaning kitchens you get to know products which look nice over time. A lot of the new vogue fancy crap that people put in their home (paying top dollar) is a waste of money and not meant for USE. Cement counters will splotch and the sealer will peel if water is left to puddle on them…and they are too heavy to move so you are stuck with the location they are put in. Almost everything that I have ever seen from Restoration Hardware, an upper end furniture store is junk – won’t hold weight, can’t be dusted and can’t be wiped down with a damp rag without ruining the finish. They can’t be used. Who do you know that does have an occasional spill now and then, nobody, right? The stuff they make is for show only, museum quality. Me, I like stuff that will last and cleans up easily. I guess I’m a bit old school that way.
I like Corian counter tops and the new seamless white laminate kitchen cabinets. They show where the dirt is and they clean up very easy. No scrubbing or chipping. You just have to make sure you use cutting boards and heating pads because they aren’t durable like the rocks are…and they wont break your glassware setting it on the counter, either.;)
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Yeah — I don’t know why people do us travertine and such for counters. But I’ve seen it recently on TV more than once. Granite — well, I dunno. We put granite in a former home and were quite happy with it.
Can’t say we ever had any problem with chipping — though we weren’t in that house all that long and maybe had we stayed longer we might have.
I have to agree with you about modern day design choices which are less about form or function and more about the creation of markets for production. I’m realizing more and more how much of our lives is based on the need to keep the economic machine moving along — without which we’d have millions more unemployed. (Forget even the whole issue of shifting production overseas)
Cement counters aren’t a solution for more earth friendly livng or even for design — I’m sure they are attempt to make something for fewer dollars — initially by the DIY population — but then publicized and marketed by campy design consultants.
Agree about Restoration Hardware. Their store in MKE went out of business. They had a lot of stuff (as I recall) that looked like a ripoff of a Cape Cod beachy design magazine — done cheap, cuz you’re right all their stuff was crummy.
I’m kind of with you on the Corian for counters. We used to have a 24×24 maple butcher block — one of those that weight 350 lbs! — and the issue of cutting boards was never much of an issue. But truth be told, all but 4 years in 1 house and our time in the motor coach we have always lived with formica or linoleum counters. Peg’s dad built his house and when he died at 85 he still had the original linoleum counters in the kitchen. A little worn, but he was also a fuss-budget who cleaned and cleaned. 🙂
Never knew that Corian would not break your glassware…. is that true? Huh.
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I have not heard of Corian breaking glassware…but granite will if you set it down too hard.
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We once bought a mobile home in Texas with plans to move it to Minnesota. So we asked about insulation and was told 3″ walls fully insulated. That was way before we knew anything about R values. Turned out fully insulated meant 1/2″ insulation all the way around. So, if you buy, you should probably do it where you will most likely set up. Or ask about R values.
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Linda, good comments.
I suspect in the long run we are checking out things we’ll never end up buying. But deciding whether to take that step or not requires information — so we’re having fun with it. Peg’s Brother lives in a park model RV and they are quite happy with it, but I question that it’s an option we would end up in. We checked out the options in Florida because as I mentioned the options available in different parts of the country are vasty different and we wanted to see what was available there.
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