6 Hour Drive for 6 Cheeses

Day 37: Lescar to Niort (6-hour drive / 3-mile ride)

Lisa and Isabelle woke early to practice yoga while Jean-Michel and I prepared breakfast. We shared more stories over coffee before facing the unfortunate truth: it was raining, and we had a rental car waiting at the Pau airport.

Jean-Michel generously offered to drive us and our bicycles there. We gladly accepted, loaded everything into his van, and avoided beginning the day with a wet ride. At the airport, we unloaded the bikes, took them apart, and somehow squeezed them and all our gear into the rental car.

Then came the six-hour drive to Niort.

Vincent and Frédérique, our Warmshowers hosts near Espelette, had recommended several beautiful towns along the way. We had great intentions, but the rain, our late start, and our decision to avoid toll roads made the drive longer than expected. The smaller roads gave us a closer look at the countryside of southwestern France, but there would be no sightseeing stops today. Those towns will have to wait for another trip.

Driving for six hours was surprisingly more tiring and stressful than riding through the Pyrenees!

Right on cue, the skies brightened as we approached Niort. We easily found the rental-car return, and an employee came outside with two coffees while we unloaded the car and reassembled our bicycles. That felt like exceptionally good service!

Before riding to our Warmshowers home, we stopped for a celebratory cold drink and watched a different part of France unfold around us. The mountains were gone, the landscape was flatter, and we had suddenly entered another chapter of the trip.

Thomas soon messaged to say he was home and ready for us. We took our time riding the three miles to the house, doing a little sightseeing and stretching legs that had spent far too long folded inside a small car.

Thomas greeted us, and Bénédicte returned home soon afterward. While our laundry was finishing, Thomas mapped out a walking tour of Niort’s old town. Lisa and I spent about an hour and 20 minutes exploring the historic center and the area around the Sèvre Niortaise. Niort’s massive twin-towered medieval keep rises near the river, and the city serves as a gateway to the waterways and green landscapes of the Marais Poitevin.

When we returned, their 11-year-old son, Guilhem, was home from school and his after-school juggling activity. Naturally, we needed a short juggling demonstration before dinner.

The meal began with sweet melon from southern France, followed by ratatouille, rice, and Bordeaux red wine. Then came the grand finale: six cheeses made from sheep, goat, and cow’s milk from different regions of France.

We nibbled our way around the platter, discussing the flavors, textures, and which ones melted most beautifully in our mouths. Thomas, Lisa, and I agreed that our favorite was the local Cendré de Niort, a raw goat’s-milk cheese with an ash-covered rind that is aged on a chestnut leaf. It was creamy, soft, and perfect spread across a piece of bread.

Guilhem’s English teacher knew he had American visitors, so he had been assigned to learn some new English words from us. We settled on cantaloupe, zucchini, and Strider, the brand of balance bike without pedals that he first learned to ride. It seemed like an appropriate word to learn from two visiting cyclists!

We also found plenty of similarities between Guilhem and Sebastian, including their interests in music, Playmobil, One Piece, and Astérix and Obélix.

Bénédicte left before the cheese course because she was singing in a concert, and Guilhem eventually went to another room to finish his homework. That left Thomas, Lisa, and me around the table doing what Warmshowers people seem to do best: discussing the differences and similarities between our countries, lifestyles, religion, and a little politics, but not too much.

Thomas also gave us a fascinating introduction to electronic music. After leaving a job he had held for 20 years, he is now searching for his next position while volunteering at a radio station, researching musicians, and studying trends in electronic music. We discussed Tortoise, the experimental Chicago band that mixes elements of rock, jazz, dub, and electronic music. We did not listen to anything that night, but Thomas gave us plenty of new musical ideas to explore later.

Once again, the conversation and friendly banter were so enjoyable that time disappeared. When we finally checked the clock, it was approaching 11:00.

It had been another fabulously interesting day. The six-hour drive may have been more exhausting than climbing mountains, but it ended exactly as we hoped: with wonderful food, new musical ideas, laughter, and another family we felt fortunate to meet.Read more