Peek-a-Boo

‘Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right place’

I had come across it in print and have heard personal accounts of a few that resonated with it, but have never lived it myself until that day…

It so happened that I was returning home after completing some errands. It was a pleasant February morning when the temperature was thankfully not in the sub-zero range and it was neither raining nor cloudy. It was just a perfect day, which I must say had the potential to turn the other way, courtesy of my own making. My gait was in perfect harmony with my chirpy, lighter than feather soul that was whistling to its own tune. Simply stated… I was totally lost in my own world!

So here I was at the tram station in that elevated state, waiting for the tram to take me on a journey from the humming streets to the solitude of my home. Watching the avenues and busy city life go past, from the cozy window seat of the tram or a bus is therapeutic. I recommend it strongly if you wish to soothe your nerves. 😊

I checked the indicator on the station for the arrival of the next tram. It informed that there was some traffic disruption en-route and hence it would not be going to its usual final destination. However, it was not much of my worry as I was to get down way before the last stop. While I was busy figuring it out, confirming the same with a ‘Citi-Mapper’* app on my mobile, my erstwhile travel buddy in Lyon, in came the tram. Boarding it, I soon was well settled next to the window when it started to roll ahead.

Minutes into our journey, while I was busy marveling at the way the tram elegantly took the turn, I realized that it was taking a different route. “No worries” whispered my mind as I thought the de-tour was part of avoiding the disruption (as indicated previously at the tram station) ahead. The pull of travel across new avenues, boulevards, and piazzas was so immensely magnetic that it zoned me out from the hustle and bustle that commuters made while boarding or de-boarding at various stations along the route.

My wandering soul was brought back to the tram seat when a commuter fumbled and held the bar right in front of me to arrest his fall. The commotion broke my trans, and I checked the indicator screen for the next station.

Lo and behold…there was a surprise, a shocking one! I read and re-read the letters on the display screen inside the tram as I couldn’t digest the fact that I had boarded the wrong tram (There are 7 tram lines, 4 metro lines, and innumerable bus routes in Lyon, covering the entire city). The zen state of my mind came crumbling down and it soon acquired the status of the fish market in a flash of seconds as I was still a new-bee in the city at that time. (Although, I have a strong feeling that I will always be a newbie in this town as it has so much to offer, so much to discover!) My heart was literally in my boots! Collecting myself quickly, as I had no minute to lose, I decided to get down at the next station and walk back to the previous station which I thankfully was aware, had a connected metro line that would finally take me home.

I got up from my seat with a jerk and rushed to the door as the tram stopped at the station. I felt the rush of the cold breeze as I descended the tram. “Nothing ‘s lost”, I consoled myself and started walking back, parallel to the tram line in the unknown neighborhood. Few steps into the right direction, I was once again captivated by the rustic charm of the old buildings in white, grey, pale yellow, and cream colors, their tiny square balconies, tall yet elegant glass windows with signature blue-green decorative French grills, a dash of modern apartments here and there, a mix of boulangerie (bakery), patisseries (pastries), coiffeur (hair salon), epicieries (grocery), fleuriste (florists), supermarche (supermarkets) restaurants and cafes on their ground floor with well-appointed window displays and of course the scenic tree-lined (though bare at that moment courtesy harsh cold winter) straight street.

Few steps ahead, at the crossroad, when I checked on my left, I felt someone imposing, giant-like and watching me over with a ‘caught ya‘ grin, a kind of ‘I know what you did’ or kind of ‘I know your shenanigans!’, look. Maybe, it was more of a ‘Peek-a-Boo’ look that made me turn towards the left, instead of going ahead which was my intended direction, to get a fair idea as to what it might be.

Few steps in the alley, there stood a pretty sight. It was a huge colorful painting on the back wall of an old building down the street. Realizing it, I chuckled and it was trigger enough to bring my chirpy, lighter than feather soul back to my body!

Detour from my journey towards the metro station followed instinctively as I wished to see the artwork from close quarters. Once near enough to appreciate it and having captured it by my erstwhile mobile camera, to my heart’s content, I stood there appreciating it for a while.

I wondered if the place was waiting for the lost travelers like me to discover it!

(Site: Along the tram line T1 between Guillotiere and Liberte, in one of the alleys)

…‘Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right place’. What do you say?

PS: Lyon is famous for its murals and frescos. Rather it’s called the “Mural Capital” of France! And how did it all begin??? That’s in the next post. Till then, sharing some of my own discoveries from across Lyon…

Mural at Institut Régional de Formation, Sanitaire et Sociale Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 115 Avenue Lacassagne,  LYON 69003, titled “Humanisons la vie” (Humanize life). It is a homage to the who’s who from the annals of history of Medicine and health at Lyon.

Near Dauphine Lacassagne tram / bus  station

Near Jet d’Eau Mendes France Tram station crossroad

Depot TCL, Avenue Lacassagne Lyon mural, titled “Les transport en commune Lyonnaise, Au fils de temps’, conceptualized and illustrated by CiteCreation  (It’s an illustration of the timeline of progress of modes of transportation in Lyon, with a backdrop of places of importance in Lyon)

*City Mapper App: an amazing app to help you travel across the length and breadth of the city of Lyon. Lyon has an excellent public transport system which consists of bus, tram, metro, and funicular i.e. ropeway! The app provides you with alternative ways to reach the destination using various combinations of modes of transport, the time it will take with every option, etc. With the CityMapper app, you will never be lost in the city of Lyon!

‘Peek-a-Boo’ is the first in the series of ‘Life Thro’ Lens @Lyon‘