Brezel

Janet went to a photography class in the morning with a friend and Jim walked to a street that has some used book shops while Janet was in class.
After the class we went to a very good cafe run by a couple of Frenchmen. Janet, Jim, Janet's friend and the husband of the friend joined up to go to the lunch. Janet ordered duck l'orange with "brezel" and mashed potatoes. Actually, she asked for rice instead of potatoes, but as often happens, the substitution was just too complicated for the waiter and staff to handle. Jim ordered a chicken burger but asked for cheese on top, and the cheese was also too much for them to deal with, but it was good anyway.
After Janet's food came we wondered what "brezel" is. As she was eating the eggplant we realized that it is "eggplant" or "aubergine" or "brindel" - the last being the way we often see it named here- they are usually smaller than eggplant but similar in color and taste and texture. We finally realized that the French owners and the Indian staff had a difficult time communicating and it ended up being written as "brezel". A little adventure in French and Indian English!
Our friends noted a couple other oddities on the menu, which was good entertainment. Finally, they mentioned to the owner that the special soup was not not really described. It had a French name, but no translation- except that it came with almond slices. Our friends are from France and Belgium, so they knew what it was. The owner simply said that they left it that way because they assumed people would ask if interested. We thought people were more likely just to not bother. They probably could not think of the English name. (It was a pumpkin or squash soup.)
The weather was very nice lately- high temps about 80F with some breezes. There have been showers or heavy rain for short periods almost every day, but the rains tend to be fairly localized- heavy in some areas and nothing elsewhere- or light.
Or Friend Linn left India in the middle of the week and should be back in the US after a few stops about now. We will miss her and so will Ziggy and Zoe as she kept them company sometimes when we were away.
Ziggy and Zoe seem generally healthy and happy. They really like watching the birds outside!