"The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round..."

So, today was lunch/movie afternoon at Sheri's. Sheri doesn't live very far, only 3 metro stops away on the green line (the line we live near). So, from door to door it's about 20 minutes. At a recent AWO (American Woman's Group) meeting, we were given tricks of the trade on using the bus/tram/trolleybus system. I decided to give it a whirl. While the metro is fast, frequent, and convenient (and you avoid having to deal with traffic); in Paris I liked the busses so I could see where I was going (metro is underground). Some of the busses are newer and some I think are from the soviet era. As long as I don't touch anything, I'm okay. Some can be very dirty. The only "bus" option I have are the trolley kind (TB) and there are 6 different TB's for me to choose from. They stop almost in front of my apartment which makes them a nice option--if you know which one to take.

We live on a very busy street--15-18 lanes of traffic. In order to get to the other side of the street- to get the bus in the correct direction (going towards the city center), I have to use the walking overpass. No problem. Bought some tickets (using my Russian!). No problem. Saw TB 65 coming and knew it wasn't one of the six I recognized. Then I thought they are all attached to cables, it's got to be going towards the city center. WRONG! Thank Goodness I had mentioned to the driver that I wanted to go near Mayokovskaya metro and after a few stops, he told me to get off. Not off to a great start. Then TB 70 pulled up and that one I recognized! Yay! I got on TB 70 and it proceeded to take me several stops in the right direction. Great! Not so much. It turned around and started going back towards my apartment! I got off that TB and decided it was metro time. I walked (in the rain) to the Bellarusksaya metro (had to find the passageway to cross back over the street) and went one stop to Mayakovskaya. FINALLY! Then walked on over to Sheri's apartment. It should have taken me 20 minutes and 1 bus ticket. It took one hour and 10 minutes, 2 bus tickets, and 1 metro ticket. Had a great afternoon at Sheri's and even braved the bus on the way home. TB 12 and it dropped me off almost in front of my apartment!