Today we took a city bus for the first time in years. Living in Chicago and LA, that’s how we got to work or anyplace else we couldn’t walk to since we didn’t have a car. Now that we’re back to foot transportation we opted for a bus since it would have otherwise taken an hour to get to the store, it was cool and rainy, and we anticipated carrying back a 40-pound (18 kg.) box. It was worth a euro each way.

The central bus station, which really is just a small storefront, sits in the shadow of the Dome you see here. This huge structure was built in 1728 and served as the chapel for a charity hospital that was demolished 350 years later. Now it serves as a nice historic backdrop and because of its height makes it easy to find the spot in the city where bus routes start and end. That’s where this morning’s challenge began.

Individual bus tickets are only 1 euro and if you buy 10 it’s only 80 cents each. At age 65 the price drops to zero giving you some extra incentive to stick around a while. We knew that we needed route number 1 but didn’t realize that within a few blocks after the route leaves the Dome, it splits going east or west depending upon the displayed destination. Yep, we needed to go west and ended up on the eastbound bus. Luckily we figured that out quickly so we exited the bus only a couple of stops after we got on, probably to the amusement of our fellow riders. Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened!

Anyway, we were soon headed west and arrived at the store where we had checked their online inventory to make sure that they had the small table we needed in stock. They did indeed have one in stock; the one on display which they would not sell, but the salesman explained that more would arrive in a week. Oh well, we really wanted that table today but carrying it back in the rain was not going to be fun. Bill has now ordered a similar one from a different company to be delivered here to the house. Guess when it’s supposed to be here: in a week, of course.