Well, Winter has now arrived in Australia, but we have to wait a while longer for Summer in France, since the change of seasons seems to start on the Solstice (June 21) over here, not at the start of the month. But June 1st was a big day for us anyway, as we checked the Credit Agricole statement online for the end of May, and saw that the money for the campervan had arrived safely in our CA account. So we went down to GAN Insurance to finalise the policy details, then over to Feu Verte in Castelsarrasin to get our Carte de Grise (Registation Grey Card) for the camper. Then across to Intersport to get some foldable chairs and table, then back to John and Irene's for the formal cheque handover, after which we were the proud owners of Vanumbra. Irene says they will have to take another trip to Morocco to get a new painting on the side door of their new van!

Having taken possession of the van, we decided we needed to move it out of John and Irene's back yard, so that they would have space for their new van which they will pick up in a couple of days. So John took me on a short drive (to show me the details of driving the van) over to the Moissac Aire, which is a dedicated parking area for camping cars, with extra large parking spaces (8m x 5m), grey water and toilet dump facilities, water and electricity (all for about 10euro per night in Moissac, between the canal and the River Tarn). Unfortunately, the short way to the Aire via the port area was closed off as the Carnival was setting up for the Pentecost weekend, so we had to go around the long way and come in from the east, via a very narrow road beside the railway line. But I learnt a lot about driving the van in such confined spaces. At this point in time, I was very glad that I had been driving the PanBus back home (which has similar dimensions to Vanumbra) for the past 10 years.

Camping Cars are very popular in France and, like in Australia, they have become even more popular over Covid when travel was restricted and more people looked to holiday at home in France. As a result of this popularity, there are thousands of Camping Car Aires spread across all regions in France, both paid sites with more facilities and free sites which mostly just provide a parking space to enable "wild-camping" using the van's own electricity, water and toilet facilities. There are also a number of apps to help you find a nearby Aire, and get reviews, across all of Europe. Two that we have bought (for less that 10euro per year subscription) are Park4Night and CamperContact. An example of the sites found just around Moissac shows the density of Aires. We hope to use them in the near to moderate future!

After moving the van to the Aire, we all then adjourned to the Sunbeam Cafe for a celebratory drink. It was good to see it re-opened after a few years, after Jackie decided to retire. There has been a lot of remodelling done (including removal of the front of the Sunbeam car from the inside wall), but still a good place for a cool drink on a hot day. We then went back to John and Iren's place again, before Rita decided to go for an afternoon swim in the Tarn near the Cacor Aqueduct. When she returned we had dinner with the Plunkett's with lots more chatting, before we walked back to the Aire and spent our first night sleeping in Vanumbra.