Bosch: Open for Business

After weeks of fruitlessly walking past Hieronymus' shop, the very day after I disclosed my plan of entering if and when it was ever open, I once again walked past the door.

And it was wide open!  The summertime breeze was blowing through the little shop!  The time had come.  The Brigadoon of book shops was waiting for me.

Alas, Hieronymus was not sighted.  The desk was staffed by an older women who was frantically typing on a typewriter (they sell used books Medieval and Renaissance books, of course they still use a typewriter, I'm sure they do their accounting on an abacus).  She recalled to mind this fellow, not because she was an albino (she was not, though her hair was white) but because she had the same startled expression on her face that he had.

(from The Princess Bride, one of the greatest movies of all time).

Unsurprisingly there was a large selection of books about Bosch, in all sorts of languages.  Lucky me, I acquired one in English!  

I saw it, saw the price (12 euros), saw that it was in English, and silently bemoaned that I only had 7 euros on me.  I asked the lady at the typewriter when they would close.  There was time!  I got some monies out of the ATM and made my way back (clearly they would only take cash at this shop... I mean, typewriters and abaci?).  While I was walking back, I was thinking, "What if somebody else buys the book?  I should have asked her to set it aside for me, just in case."  Of course, that was ludicrous.  Nobody else even gazed at the shop, let alone entered it.  It was like the Leaky Cauldron: only I could see it.

I also found this gem for two euros.  Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars.  If you ever take a Greek and Roman Art History course, expect to hear quite a bit from Suetonius.  I've wanted to read this for a few years, but it is a little tricky to find.  And two euros, from Bosch's shop, too good to pass up.

And to make a good day even better, I stopped at this awesome chocolate store not far from Bosch's.  Amazing.  Amazing chocolates, and amazing how large my teeth are.  You can just call me 'Granger'.