My Urban Village

Les faits de France (The facts of France)

I live in Villeurbanne (aka Urban Village), which is just steps away from Lyon. When I walk out of my apartment I am approximately 50 steps away from Lyon’s troisième arrondissement, where my road changes from rue Edouard Aynard to rue de l’Espérance.  

Lyon is the second largest city in France and is divided into 9 arrondissments or administrative divisions. It is also the capital of gastronomy in France, known for its cuisine and chefs!!

Lyon & Villeurbanne are within the Rhône-Alpes Region of France. There are 100 regions in France and the Rhône-Alpes region is identified as prefecture 69, where all licence plates registered in this region end in 69 and postal codes start with 69, (my postal code is 69100).

I live in a central area where I am a 20 minute walk from La Part-Dieu (one of the largest shopping malls in all of Europe), and the Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu (train station) that connects to the rest of France and Europe (TGV/Euro Rail).  I am approximately a 45 minute walk from the centre of the city and Vieux Lyon, the heart of Lyon where the Rhône and Saône rivers converge. The city is easily accessible by bus, subway, tramway, or by foot or vélo (a system where you can rent a bike at one of many stations around the city).



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If I have learned one thing during my time here so far it is that in navigating the city, random exploration is the wisest way to stay on track!! Over the last few days, with weather finally permitting, I have taken the opportunity to explore the area around my apartment, and acquaint with the nooks and crannies of my urban village. My greatest discoveries have come through random twists, turns and paths which always seem to lead me in the right direction. My greatest adventures though, have come about by trying to stay on a straight path. How interesting … as how can you get lost on the straight path yet find your way home on the curved and twisted one? ...

Perhaps this is a lesson of not only physical direction and exploration,

but also one of spirituality and faith!

A couple of weeks ago while attempting to explore my new neighbourhood on foot at 9:15 at night, I decided to follow a ‘straight’ path, somehow losing my way back? Now I know that I am horrible with directions, and struggle with left from right, with an absent sense of north from south and east from west, but walking straight and then turning a full 360° and heading back in the same direction should be relatively easy, right? Well in theory I was walking straight, but the city is made up of streets, roundabouts, boulevards and intersections that curve, twist, turn and bend in all directions that it is not possible to stay straight or focused. In my initial quest to navigate this ‘straight’ path I ended up at a completely unfamiliar roundabout with at least 5 different directions.

Um, so now what? ...

Well, there was a vélo station at this roundabout and a large map of the city with all the stations on the map. So surprisingly I was able to locate where I wanted to be (aka chez moi), and I began to scan the map to find where I was? Trouble is I am at a roundabout and I have at least 5 streets to choose from, and, this giant map does not have a trusty arrow that points to ‘you are here’? So after at least 10 minutes of scanning the map and walking to a nearby bus stop to scan an even more elaborate map, I returned to the original map and caved and called my dad; who by the way had no idea of my last minute exploration.  It was now 10:20 at night and I announced through laughter, “J’ai perdu.” My dad asked where I was, and through laughter again I say, “Je ne sais pas,” and describe the roundabout and landmarks around it. And then he jokes, “what did you have to drink”, prompting even more laughter from me, because if I had I would not be in my current predicament, but I may have rather walked a random cloudy path back to my door?

So, aside from not exploring the city in the dark, I have also learned that I should walk without expectation, and rather explore and discover with innocent and unassuming intention. And from here on out ...

 I will traverse this new landscape of home and heart & land and self with intentions of discovery, exploration, integration and courage!