A lifetime of author’s memorable meals, not so much because of the food, but mainly because of locations and people involved. Locations: from Pittsburgh, France, Princeton, NJ, Rochester, NY, Washington D.C., and Switzerland to Atlantic ocean liners. People: Other than dear friends -- Spanish royalty in exile (in France) during the revolution, Vera Tolstoy, a nervous Communist Polish diplomat, CIA agents in disguise, Ghanaians in medical residency, Cyrus Vance, and more – including all the stories that came with these guests: surprises, the uninvited along with invited. Food: from the farm fresh vegetables and meat of the author’s Pittsburgh childhood to cold calf brains (due to a misunderstanding between her father and a French waiter).