The main attraction around here these days is food, food, food. We had an evening "snack" on arrival on Friday at a Lebanese restaurant, where we are plates of meze. Meze...which is called tapas in Spain but comes from the same tradition, is smallish quantities of various appetizers: Stuffed grape leaves, cream cheese with herbs, hummous (mashed chick peas), baba ganouj (mashed eggplant) and tabouli salad (bulgar wheat, parsley, tomatoes and onions). Those are the ones I knew the names of.

The next day we all attended nephew Hadrien's first communion and afterward, we had hired a little restaurant all for our group. I had some kind of mashed shrimp as an entree, and then salmon lightly poached and then baked to perfection over a vegetable medley and then a light strawberry pie. Of course there was champagne.

Let's move on to the food we're eating now. We have taken the train south to Chateauroux, home of JF's parents. Natasha is here with us. Raf stayed in the States because he had to work on Friday.

Last night, we had endives wrapped in ham and then baked with lardons (sort of like bacon) and cheese. For dessert: Fromage blanc and creme fraiche with pears. When we're at home, JF approximates this with sour cream and yogurt, but it only comes within shouting distance...

The night before, Robert, JF's father, served escargots (snails), one of my all-time favorite French dishes. They are packed in shells with garlic/parsley butter and then baked. We had simple steamed veggies with them.

For lunch yesterday, we ate spaghetti that JF fixed, plus a carrot/garlic salad with homemade vinaigrette sauce. Then fish medallions with scallops and some kind of sauce...not sure what the sauce was. Then pastries from the local bakery...I had half a coffee eclair and half a pear tarte.

Having finished all the books I had on hand, I've started on "Jesus Lived in India." It's actually more interesting than I expected. The thesis, that there was a settlement of one or more of the "lost tribes of Israel" in Kashmir, that Moses is buried there, that Jesus spent time there during the 15 years we know nothing about him, that Jesus got a lot of his theological ideas from Buddhism, that he didn't die on the cross, but went to Kashmir where he finished a long life and died a natural death, is documented with all sorts of documents and photos. It's a fascinating idea, whether it's true or not.