Summer Fun – A Special Tourist Train Trip and Gospel Concert

There has been so much going on the last few weeks that I haven’t had time to post… So I have things lined up to share with you… And it’s good stuff!

 

Lets start with the wonderful train ride we took a couple of weeks ago…

 

       A friend of ours invited us to go on a special tourist train, enjoy a picnic and then attend a concert in the park to hear a new gospel choir that’s just starting up.

I love trains and gospel music, so I was thrilled to add this to our social calendar…

The train is a three-car tourist train called “Le Train du Centre Var” is owned and run by its members… of which there are over 50.

The train picked us up in Carnoules-les-Platanes (approx. 1 km north of the center of Carnoules) and we went as far Brignoles in the northwest.  

 

One of the things I loved about this trip is that there are no railroad crossings on the streets where cars

go, so two of the people who work on the train jump out at each stop and, using red and white streamers, create the barriers themselves!  There were about 7 stops, and each time, the employees would go and grab their streamer, hop out and create a road barrier to stop traffic and prevent anyone from getting injured!

One of the other things I loved about this train ride is that it’s not really fast – so you’ve got time to look at the countryside, and the employees are happy to answer questions and also give a great guided tour about the history of the area and some of the more interesting – and mostly unknown – happenings.

 

 

Our ride took us to Brignoles in the northwest to the Brignoles train station, which has just been purchased by the state and is scheduled for renovation starting at the end of this year.  

 

The club – called the ATTCV -(which stands for: l’Association du Train Touristique du Centre Var) – was established in 1994.

The club has more than 50 members and around half of them are active and participate in the club and the train on a regular basis.

When the club started, members (who love all things having to do with trains, and particularly this train) spent several years collecting equipment, information and trying to get official permission to run their train on the tracks.  (Believe it or not, that took them 7 years before permission was granted!)  The Train Touristique du Centre Var had it’s inaugural run in August 2001.  

The train’s diesel engine railcar is named “Picasso”.  As its fame spread, more people have begun booking passage on the little train, and during the 2007-2008 April-October season, they had more than 5000 passengers!  That’s pretty impressive… I think it should be the little engine that could…

If you have a special occasion or want to book a group event – like the gospel concert we attended, it’s entirely possible.

The tourist train is reported to have carried more than 5000 passengers during the 2007 April-October traffic season.

 

 

When we got back to the Carnoules-les-Platanes station, the employees had put together a lovely surprise for us – a wonderful aperitif under the trees.  There were several things to drink and a really impressive selection of finger foods – including homemade pizzas, savory, homemade olive bread, garden-fresh cherry tomatoes and radishes (with a delicious dip) and then the usual assortment of chips, several kinds of crackers, an assortment of nuts, etc.  Everything was delicious, and eating under the huge plane trees meant we weren’t too hot.

After the aperitif, everyone walked over to the little park, where they found their “perfect” picnic spot and had a really lovely picnic.  (Of course, after the picnic, it was time for a nap!)  But since Alain fell asleep on our bench, I decided to take a walk, and do a little exploring until it was time for the concert.

The club had apparently put flyers out all around the village of Carnoules and Carnoules-les-Plantanes and maybe other surrounding towns, because cars started showing up, and little old ladies carrying lawn chairs shuffled into the large open court, in front of the stage where they were guaranteed to have a good seat!

 

As it got closer to the concert, city employees came and began setting up white metal chairs, and more cars with more local people began piling out.  There was a lot of name calling, and story telling and laughter as friends who hadn’t seen each other perhaps since the last such free concert – began catching up on the latest goings on.  I met one such lovely lady, and she and I sat on the sidelines for half an hour or so, while she told me wonderful tales of how her husband used to be the gardener for French singing sensation Johnny Haliday, and about the people he knew and the visitors to his lovely property… She was absolutely fascinating, and I enjoyed meeting her very much!

 

As happens everywhere in the south of France, many people brought their dogs, who behaved with the utmost politeness, and correct doggy behavior… They’d move face to face, look each other in the eye and touch noses – then take and turns smelling… well, lets just say it probably wasn’t rosy… (One thing I’ve always been amazed by is the way dogs here don’t bark, they don’t get all excited and they have excellent manners when out in public.  Tourist dogs are seldom so well-behaved, and if there is an incident of barking or jumping or other impoliteness, it’s usually started by the doggy visitor.)

 

 

 

 

At long last, it was time for the concert.  Gospel Var is the brainchild of its conductor, (himself a singer). He spent two years in the states – in Louisiana – New Orleans, and traveled to other places along the east coast where he fell in love with gospel music.

Not being able to find what he was looking for in a gospel choir in the area, he decided to start his own, and singers travel for several miles in order to participate in the practices, which are held weekly. This was the group’s first concert, and they gave me goosebumps several times!

We bought their CD too – it’s not been produced yet, so it was a purchase “en avance” – and they’re using the money they got from pre-selling their cd to pay to have it produced! That’s a very smart move, especially in today’s economy, and something more entrepreneurs would do well to think about, when they’re looking for funding!

All in all, it was a day to remember, and I’m so glad I got to participate!  

 

 

Tags:Gospel Var gives first performance,Le Train du Centre Var,the tourist train of the var

Related posts

• No related posts.