Meals

I enjoyed "Vietnam, the Coming Resort?" (May 4). A friend and I went to Vietnam and Cambodia in January using OSC Vietnam Tours, 65 Nam Nghia, Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City (tel. 011-84-8-829-6658, fax 011-84-8-829-0195). We were there for 17 days. OSC arranged our trip with our own guide and air-conditioned car and air travel [within Vietnam and Cambodia] for $1,895 per person. That price included breakfast, all meals in Cambodia and entry fees. Other meals were very reasonable and very good, mostly stir-fry vegetables with chicken, fish or pork, and the most wonderful fruit.

The Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department will offer free summer lunches to youths 18 and under at recreation centers around the city. More than 9,660 lunches will be served to children who would otherwise be deprived of meals like those served during the school year. The lunches, which will consist of fruit, milk and a sandwich, will be served at noon from July 10 to Sept. 1. On the Westside, meals will be served at these recreation centers: Baldwin Hills, 5401 Highlight Place; Rancho Cienega, 5001 Rodeo Road; Mar Vista Gardens, 4901 Marionwood; Jim Gilliam, 4000 S. La Brea Ave.; Oakwood, 767 California St., Venice; Vineyard, 2942 Vineyard Ave.; Robertson, 1641 Preuss Road; Culver-Slauson, 5070 Slauson Ave.; Penmar, 1341 Lake St., Venice, and Stoner, 1835 Stoner Ave. For more information, call: (213)

The average middle-income family of four in the United States spent about $120 a week on meals at home in November, the U.S. Agriculture Department reported today. The agency found that a family of four with elementary school children living on a moderate-cost food plan spent $120.60 per week on meals at home, while a family of four with preschool children on the same plan spent $100.40. A low-income family of four with elementary school children spent $75.

If You Go THE BEST WAY TO ROATÁN, HONDURAS From LAX, Continental and Taca provide connecting service to Roatán, Honduras. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $631. WHERE TO STAY Anthony's Key Resort, (800) 227-3483, http://www.anthonyskey.com ; $1,049 a person for a week, including all diving and all meals. Dolphin-Scuba summer camp $819 per child, ages 5-9 (includes room, all meals, rooming with an adult). Call your local dive shop for pre-trip training.

Thomas Maugh's May 31 column, "Study Dilutes the Wine Theory," neglected to mention the way French people take their meals and their general lifestyle as far as heart attacks are concerned. I have spent a month in France on more than one occasion, and when I returned home, I had lost 15 pounds each time. While I was there I ate what they ate and lived as they live. The French take their largest meal in the middle of the day--not in the evening as we do. They also eat slowly, and have a variety of fruits and vegetables with their meals over several small courses.

College life without any tests or papers? Sweet, particularly when it means taking a week of classes at prestigious Oxford University in Oxford, England, on topics such as castles in Britain, the Brontes, King Arthur and the Dark Ages, the History of the BBC and more. The Oxford Experience invites "students" to stay in dormitories and attend classes at Christ Church college while touring the storied campus and the area around Oxford. Meals are served in the Hall, made famous by the "Harry Potter" films, and extra tours may be added on. Date: Study weeks run Sundays-Saturdays from July 1-Aug.

Thanks for the piece on Napa Rose ("A Wine Adventureland," July 9). One of my most memorable meals was consumed over 2 1/2 hours at Victoria and Albert's, crown jewel of Disney World dining experiences at the Grand Floridian Hotel. No mouse-shaped butter, but attentive service and a sumptuous meal, paired with exquisite wine selections. I was completely won over. Dorothy Duder North Hollywood