Birthday Photos, the First

So, a little less than a week ago, I added another year to my count.  I'm creeping on up there, let me tell ya.  Julien  "kidnapped" me Wednesday night--yes, the same day as my seasick episode. :-/ but I was feeling better after a siesta--and took me to a bed and breakfast on Grande Terre.  

Suppers at the Gîte du Mont Combani are convivial affairs, and the guests all eat together at the same table. We started with papaya soup, followed by rougail saucisse (sadly for the restaurant experience, Julien's is *much* better) with gratin au betsaï (kind of like Chinese cabbage). The gratin was good.  We had a banana dessert that I don't know the name of. :P All in all, aside from the delicious breakfast breads and homemade jams, the food was not up to par. However the bungalows were charming and the grounds were beautifully landscaped, giving me the opportunity to...yeah, you guessed it...turn my birthday into a photo safari.  Because I have quite a few pics to share, I'm going to break the posts up by subject.


( snip, snip )

Come back to see the bats and lemurs and...well, lots of other things. :D

Word of mouth

I'm curious: How many of you have stumbled on a now-favorite author because of word of mouth?  Anyone care to mouth off here about someone they think others should be reading? Conversely, have you ever been let down by a book that your friends raved and gushed about? I say friends because I'm assuming we've all, now and then, vehemently disagreed with the quality, interest, and readability of established bestsellers.