Where will these languages take me...and what to see while there?

Kitrax · Tue, 6th Nov '07, 9:31pm

Ok, so English is my 1st language, but as soon as we have some spare time, my wife and I want to learn German before we go on our European trip.

Anyway, knowing English along with German, what countries would be able to go to and properly communicate with the locals? Hotels and the like don’t count since we’ll probably only stay at an actually hotel as we explore London and the surrounding areas.

We're planning on taking $10,000 with us (that's after buying the tickets to get us to Europe), and our plans are to ask the locals what to see and where to go...and basically have little to no financial restrictions. Countries we know we want to go to are: England, Scotland, and Germany. Our goals include country hopping, so I need to know where I can properly communicate.

[EDIT] To view the places I've got so far in Google Earth, please read my post a bit down the page for a major update to this thread. Or just click this link. [/EDIT]

Barmy Army · Tue, 6th Nov '07, 9:46pm

You'll be fine anywhere so long as you speak English. Basic grasp of French, Spanish and German and Europe is your Oyster. You don't 'need' other languages though. The Europeans are generally very accommodating for English speakers. I've been loads and loads of countries and never met a single person abroad who doesn't know at least enough English to get along. You've Britain to thank for that, we're an extremely lazy country, really.

chevalier · Tue, 6th Nov '07, 9:48pm

Quote:

Anyway, knowing English along with German, what countries would be able to go to and properly communicate with the locals?

Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and also technically Belgium (for the tiny Limbourg regions which used to belong to the historical Luxembourg) are countries with German as the official language, although German is also popular in countries neighbouring Germany, except perhaps France.

Dalveen · Tue, 6th Nov '07, 10:42pm

Ohhh, if you drop into Scotland, be sure to come to Dundee, i would gladly show you around, give you a few other places to see.

Montresor · Tue, 6th Nov '07, 10:51pm

Almost everybody in Scandinavia speaks English and/or German.

Kitrax · Wed, 7th Nov '07, 12:11pm

Ok, so I don't have to post a new thread, I'm updating this one.

Before my wife and I have kids, we want to end our normal lives with a bang... (so to speak). We figure that once we have kids, we're not going to be able to take vacations or travel much for several years, so we want to go all out and have the time of our lives.

As of right now, we know we want to start the trip in England. While there, we want to see Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, and a few other of the main tourist traps in London.

From there, we want to go up to Scotland for a quick visit to any castles, and to check out anything worth seeing.

After Scotland, it's off to Germany for what looks to be the main stay of the trip. I'm still adding placemarks to Google Earth to map out all the "good" castles and other places we want to go...and so far, there's a lot.

After Germany, I'm not really sure of where to go. I'd like to go to Hungary and see Budapest, along with the Czech Republic to check out Prague, or the Netherlands to see Amsterdam.

So *please* people, give me ideas! Places to go, things to see, places to stay...you get the drift. Once I finish adding placemarkers to Google Earth, I'll save them to a file and give you all the link so you can all see my ideas on GE.

Barmy Army · Wed, 7th Nov '07, 1:44pm

If you're going to visit England, don't just go to London then leave. There's plenty of other places well worth a visit. I'll take a look at your GE plan for England and let you know

.

Dalveen · Wed, 7th Nov '07, 1:58pm

I'll do the same for Scotland, plenty of things to see here, i live here and i've not seen them all...

Rallymama · Wed, 7th Nov '07, 2:36pm

You might be able to get around Nothern Italy if you have some German fluency.

Urithrand · Wed, 7th Nov '07, 3:04pm

Kitrax I demand that while in Europe you come to a meetup of random SP locals

revmaf · Wed, 7th Nov '07, 3:14pm

Kitrax, while in London definitely go to the British Museum. Though it's been years since I was there it remains one of the most awesome museums in the world. I spent a semester in London and wandered into the museum at least every couple of weeks and never saw it all.

Taluntain · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 2:28am

And the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Awesome sites. Well, there's not that much to see in the observatory, but the NMM collections are simply breathtaking.

Nakia · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 3:06am

Kitrax, hurray! I'm so happy for you.

When I travelled in England, France and Italy, 3 different trips, I planned my own trip and mostly stayed at Bed & Breakfasts or inns, except in London and Paris. In those two cities we did stay in hotels. I don't count the hotel in Rome since it was a small one. We went off the beaten USA tourist route, met locals and had a ball. The only country where I had a small bit of a language problem was France. I only speak English with a few words of Italian and Spanish.

Kitrax · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 7:11am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dalveen

I'll do the same for Scotland, plenty of things to see here, i live here and i've not seen them all...

I'm *really* going to need help with Scotland. Could you PM me with some ideas?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urithrand

Kitrax I demand that while in Europe you come to a meetup of random SP locals

I was planning on it...but since you *demanded*, I just might skip *your* area.

Naw...just kidding, after I have a general idea of where we're going, we can start planning the SP member meet and greet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taluntain

And the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Awesome sites. Well, there's not that much to see in the observatory, but the NMM collections are simply breathtaking.

I'm not really big on museums....Jessica might be...but I prefer castles, gothic style cathedrals, and other architectural wonders of the past.

Enagonios · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 7:46am

Quote:

Ohhh, if you drop into Scotland, be sure to come to Dundee, i would gladly show you around, give you a few other places to see.

That invitation exclusive or for all SP'ers?

I may be in Scotland to visit my cousin sometime next year. He's studying at St. Andrew's.

I'll be in Spain on January 6. Any SP'ers from there? Only one I'm aware of is Sydax. I'm going to be studying in Salamanca for around 6months but I'd like to travel around if I can so maybe I can meet up with some of you guys? almost everywhere in Europe is only a border away provided I have a Shenzen(sp?) visa, right?

Uytuun · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 6:42pm

You might want to get some basic knowledge of French. Also, my Hungarian friends claim that knowledge of English is rather poor over there.

The Frenchies might not be the most inviting people, but that doesn't change the fact that the country has a lot to offer. I would also recommend Italy.

Belgium shouldn't prove to be problematic language-wise.

T2Bruno · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 7:11pm

I'm the traditional America (i.e., I only speak English). While in the Navy I traveled all over the world and found that you do not need to know any other language.

You only need to be polite.

It's absolutely amazing the different impressions I had versus those of my shipmates. I would learn a few phrases (most important are 'please' and 'thank-you'), which you can pick up with any decent travel guide. There are so many people that know English (and for that matter French, Spanish, German, and Italian), with patience and positive attitude you will find local people willing to help you and share in the pride of their communities.

Don't limit yourself based solely on language.

Dalveen · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 8:52pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enagonios

That invitation exclusive or for all SP'ers?

I may be in Scotland to visit my cousin sometime next year. He's studying at St. Andrew's.

NOO! How dare he! There our rivals

If your only going to be in St. Andrews, then feel free to drop by mine, im only a 10 minute drive away. Also, all the good shopping and night life is here, and not in St. Andrews.

Kit, i'll start forumlating a list for you.

Caradhras · Thu, 8th Nov '07, 9:16pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uytuun

The Frenchies might not be the most inviting people, but that doesn't change the fact that the country has a lot to offer. I would also recommend Italy.

That's a bit harsh actually. I'm French and where I live (in Lyons) there are many tourists. Sometimes it's a bit annoying because you may be in a hurry and the streets are crowded and you have to take "shortcuts" to avoid flocks of tourists (French and non French tourists as well). That being said most people over here are rather nice and friendly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by T2Bruno

I'm the traditional America (i.e., I only speak English). While in the Navy I traveled all over the world and found that you do not need to know any other language.

You only need to be polite.

It's absolutely amazing the different impressions I had versus those of my shipmates. I would learn a few phrases (most important are 'please' and 'thank-you'), which you can pick up with any decent travel guide. There are so many people that know English (and for that matter French, Spanish, German, and Italian), with patience and positive attitude you will find local people willing to help you and share in the pride of their communities.

Don't limit yourself based solely on language.

Some very good advice from T2Bruno. What matters is not the proficiency but the fact that you are at least trying to communicate in the language. Just don't expect everyone you meet in Europe to speak English fluently.

Uytuun · Fri, 9th Nov '07, 12:22am

Yeah, sorry, Caradhras, je m'excuse.

I didn't mean it that way, but I didn't feel like nuancing the statement because I was insanely hungry (and as a result also very grumpy - it's a curse). What I meant to say is that the French tend to be rather protective of their language and might not always react well to being addressed in English. It actually totally depends on where you go. I found that when we were in the South and stayed at small "domaines" in rural areas, people were very friendly. Paris is a different story. Then again, I can relate to major irritation over tourists, since I live in a touristy area that gets very, very crowded during the summer (by French and non-French tourists, we have that in common

).

I probably shouldn't post when my sugar level is that low. Sorry again. I'm taking evening classes to resurrect my secondary school French and I have family in France, so I'm not anti-France.

Kitrax · Fri, 9th Nov '07, 8:13am

Ok, I've got a pretty good list going right now for Germany. I found a website with awesome info on a whole bunch of castles along the Rhine River. I think it'll make a great day trip driving along the Rhein hitting a bunch of great looking castles. I also have a bunch of spots in Munich.

I've only looked along the Rhein River and in Munich...so I haven’t touched on Berlin or Hamburg yet. Maybe I'll start looking in to those cities this weekend on my days off.

I'm still open to ideas for places to go in England, Scotland, Germany, Hungary (Budapest), the Czech Republic (Prague), and maybe the Netherlands (Amsterdam).

Shell · Fri, 9th Nov '07, 8:28am

Hey, what about Ireland!

Mesmero · Fri, 9th Nov '07, 9:20am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitrax

After Germany, I'm not really sure of where to go. I'd like to go to Hungary and see Budapest, along with the Czech Republic to check out Prague, or the Netherlands to see Amsterdam.
So *please* people, give me ideas! Places to go, things to see, places to stay...you get the drift. Once I finish adding placemarkers to Google Earth, I'll save them to a file and give you all the link so you can all see my ideas on GE.

Amsterdam is overrated. Sure there is the Red Light District (a.k.a. Europe's main tourist hotspot for *****s and drugs. Did you know they actually have tours over the Red Light District for tourists?), but that hardly gives a proper view of the Netherlands. Besides that, there are art and historical museums in Amsterdam (and of course a sex museum in the Red Light District

), but there are much nicer places in The Netherlands to visit. If you do however find yourself in Amsterdam, take a guided boat tour over the canals, it will show you all around the center of Amsterdam and give you a bit of historical information. Oh, and enjoy the bicycle madness

As for language: everybody here speaks English. If you do find an older person who doesn't speak English: nine out of ten of them speak pretty good German.

Montresor · Fri, 9th Nov '07, 9:58am

Have you thought about going to Italy and see Rome? I was there back in highschool and always wanted to go back some day.

If that sort of thing interests you and you have the time, I'd also recommend a visit to Pompeii.

Just be warned that by far not all Italians speak English or German.

Taluntain · Fri, 9th Nov '07, 10:34am

No, most Italians speak nothing but Italian, actually. The younger ones might know a few words of English, but that's about it.

Tue, 6th Nov '07, 9:31pm	#1
Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 7,899 Blog Entries: 11 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 19,725 Level: 39 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 57.74% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Where will these languages take me...and what to see while there? Ok, so English is my 1st language, but as soon as we have some spare time, my wife and I want to learn German before we go on our European trip. Anyway, knowing English along with German, what countries would be able to go to and properly communicate with the locals? Hotels and the like don’t count since we’ll probably only stay at an actually hotel as we explore London and the surrounding areas. We're planning on taking $10,000 with us (that's after buying the tickets to get us to Europe), and our plans are to ask the locals what to see and where to go...and basically have little to no financial restrictions. Countries we know we want to go to are: England, Scotland, and Germany. Our goals include country hopping, so I need to know where I can properly communicate. [EDIT] To view the places I've got so far in Google Earth, please read my post a bit down the page for a major update to this thread. Or just click this link. [/EDIT]
	Last edited by Kitrax; Tue, 27th Nov '07 at 1:24pm.

Fri, 9th Nov '07, 8:13am	#21
Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 7,899 Blog Entries: 11 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 19,725 Level: 39 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 57.74% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Ok, I've got a pretty good list going right now for Germany. I found a website with awesome info on a whole bunch of castles along the Rhine River. I think it'll make a great day trip driving along the Rhein hitting a bunch of great looking castles. I also have a bunch of spots in Munich. I've only looked along the Rhein River and in Munich...so I haven’t touched on Berlin or Hamburg yet. Maybe I'll start looking in to those cities this weekend on my days off. I'm still open to ideas for places to go in England, Scotland, Germany, Hungary (Budapest), the Czech Republic (Prague), and maybe the Netherlands (Amsterdam).
	Last edited by Kitrax; Fri, 9th Nov '07 at 8:26am.

Fri, 9th Nov '07, 9:58am	#24
Montresor SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member Online Walkthrough Writer Mostly Harmless 30k Starfighter Champion! Bomb Bandits Champion! Breakout Champion! Cutie Quake Champion! Driller Champion! Hexxagon Champion! Michu Champion! Treasure Hunt Champion! Driving Mad Champion! Moebius Syndrome Champion! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 2,984 Blog Entries: 2 Like: 48 Liked 35 Times in 27 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 7,859 Level: 26 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 91.89% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 71.46% Monthly Activity 49.18% Achievements Awards	Have you thought about going to Italy and see Rome? I was there back in highschool and always wanted to go back some day. If that sort of thing interests you and you have the time, I'd also recommend a visit to Pompeii. Just be warned that by far not all Italians speak English or German.
	Last edited by Montresor; Fri, 9th Nov '07 at 11:10am. Reason: Edited for correctness (thanks, Taluntain!)

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Tue, 6th Nov '07, 9:46pm	#2
Barmy Army Simple mind, simple pleasures... Join Date: May 2003 Location: England Posts: 6,531 Like: 14 Liked 45 Times in 30 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,289 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.15% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 120.41% Monthly Activity 112.18% Achievements	You'll be fine anywhere so long as you speak English. Basic grasp of French, Spanish and German and Europe is your Oyster. You don't 'need' other languages though. The Europeans are generally very accommodating for English speakers. I've been loads and loads of countries and never met a single person abroad who doesn't know at least enough English to get along. You've Britain to thank for that, we're an extremely lazy country, really.

Tue, 6th Nov '07, 10:42pm	#4
Dalveen Rimmer gone Bald Defence The Game Champion! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,442 Blog Entries: 1 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,844 Level: 19 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 76.5% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Ohhh, if you drop into Scotland, be sure to come to Dundee, i would gladly show you around, give you a few other places to see.

Tue, 6th Nov '07, 10:51pm	#5
Montresor SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member Online Walkthrough Writer Mostly Harmless 30k Starfighter Champion! Bomb Bandits Champion! Breakout Champion! Cutie Quake Champion! Driller Champion! Hexxagon Champion! Michu Champion! Treasure Hunt Champion! Driving Mad Champion! Moebius Syndrome Champion! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denmark Posts: 2,984 Blog Entries: 2 Like: 48 Liked 35 Times in 27 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 7,859 Level: 26 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 91.89% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 71.46% Monthly Activity 49.18% Achievements Awards	Almost everybody in Scandinavia speaks English and/or German.

Wed, 7th Nov '07, 12:11pm	#6
Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 7,899 Blog Entries: 11 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 19,725 Level: 39 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 57.74% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Ok, so I don't have to post a new thread, I'm updating this one. Before my wife and I have kids, we want to end our normal lives with a bang... (so to speak). We figure that once we have kids, we're not going to be able to take vacations or travel much for several years, so we want to go all out and have the time of our lives. As of right now, we know we want to start the trip in England. While there, we want to see Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, and a few other of the main tourist traps in London. From there, we want to go up to Scotland for a quick visit to any castles, and to check out anything worth seeing. After Scotland, it's off to Germany for what looks to be the main stay of the trip. I'm still adding placemarks to Google Earth to map out all the "good" castles and other places we want to go...and so far, there's a lot. After Germany, I'm not really sure of where to go. I'd like to go to Hungary and see Budapest, along with the Czech Republic to check out Prague, or the Netherlands to see Amsterdam. So please people, give me ideas! Places to go, things to see, places to stay...you get the drift. Once I finish adding placemarkers to Google Earth, I'll save them to a file and give you all the link so you can all see my ideas on GE.

Wed, 7th Nov '07, 1:44pm	#7
Barmy Army Simple mind, simple pleasures... Join Date: May 2003 Location: England Posts: 6,531 Like: 14 Liked 45 Times in 30 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 16,289 Level: 36 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.15% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 120.41% Monthly Activity 112.18% Achievements	If you're going to visit England, don't just go to London then leave. There's plenty of other places well worth a visit. I'll take a look at your GE plan for England and let you know .

Wed, 7th Nov '07, 1:58pm	#8
Dalveen Rimmer gone Bald Defence The Game Champion! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,442 Blog Entries: 1 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 3,844 Level: 19 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 76.5% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	I'll do the same for Scotland, plenty of things to see here, i live here and i've not seen them all...

Wed, 7th Nov '07, 2:36pm	#9
Rallymama O Fortuna, velat Luna, statu variabilis Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wherever I go, there I am Posts: 4,329 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 9,533 Level: 29 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 22.52% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	You might be able to get around Nothern Italy if you have some German fluency.

Wed, 7th Nov '07, 3:04pm	#10
Urithrand SPS Account Holder News Editor Mind turning the light off? It plays havoc with my complexion. Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: The Vale Of Aldur Posts: 1,358 Like: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 5,534 Level: 23 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 15.17% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Kitrax I demand that while in Europe you come to a meetup of random SP locals

Wed, 7th Nov '07, 3:14pm	#11
revmaf SPS Account Holder Older, not wiser, but a lot more fun Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,058 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 2,578 Level: 16 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 59.91% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Kitrax, while in London definitely go to the British Museum. Though it's been years since I was there it remains one of the most awesome museums in the world. I spent a semester in London and wandered into the museum at least every couple of weeks and never saw it all.

Thu, 8th Nov '07, 2:28am	#12
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Resident Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cori Celesti Posts: 20,808 Blog Entries: 13 Like: 159 Liked 123 Times in 80 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 53,170 Level: 58 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 50.18% Daily Activity 71.92% Weekly Activity 174.25% Monthly Activity 105% Achievements Awards	And the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Awesome sites. Well, there's not that much to see in the observatory, but the NMM collections are simply breathtaking.

Thu, 8th Nov '07, 3:06am	#13
Nakia SPS Account Holder Distinguished Member The night is mine Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: A Pocket Plane somewhere in NJ. Posts: 5,315 Blog Entries: 5 Like: 66 Liked 23 Times in 17 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 12,463 Level: 32 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 72.31% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements Awards	Kitrax, hurray! I'm so happy for you. When I travelled in England, France and Italy, 3 different trips, I planned my own trip and mostly stayed at Bed & Breakfasts or inns, except in London and Paris. In those two cities we did stay in hotels. I don't count the hotel in Rome since it was a small one. We went off the beaten USA tourist route, met locals and had a ball. The only country where I had a small bit of a language problem was France. I only speak English with a few words of Italian and Spanish.

Thu, 8th Nov '07, 6:42pm	#16
Uytuun Delirious? Me? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,097 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,937 Level: 22 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 3.96% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	You might want to get some basic knowledge of French. Also, my Hungarian friends claim that knowledge of English is rather poor over there. The Frenchies might not be the most inviting people, but that doesn't change the fact that the country has a lot to offer. I would also recommend Italy. Belgium shouldn't prove to be problematic language-wise.

Thu, 8th Nov '07, 7:11pm	#17
T2Bruno SPS Account Holder The only source of knowledge is experience Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Chicago -- far west suburbs. Posts: 9,320 Like: 20 Liked 82 Times in 62 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 22,278 Level: 41 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 58.89% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 115.52% Monthly Activity 62.72% Achievements Awards	I'm the traditional America (i.e., I only speak English). While in the Navy I traveled all over the world and found that you do not need to know any other language. You only need to be polite. It's absolutely amazing the different impressions I had versus those of my shipmates. I would learn a few phrases (most important are 'please' and 'thank-you'), which you can pick up with any decent travel guide. There are so many people that know English (and for that matter French, Spanish, German, and Italian), with patience and positive attitude you will find local people willing to help you and share in the pride of their communities. Don't limit yourself based solely on language.

Fri, 9th Nov '07, 12:22am	#20
Uytuun Delirious? Me? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,097 Like: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 4,937 Level: 22 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 3.96% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Yeah, sorry, Caradhras, je m'excuse. I didn't mean it that way, but I didn't feel like nuancing the statement because I was insanely hungry (and as a result also very grumpy - it's a curse). What I meant to say is that the French tend to be rather protective of their language and might not always react well to being addressed in English. It actually totally depends on where you go. I found that when we were in the South and stayed at small "domaines" in rural areas, people were very friendly. Paris is a different story. Then again, I can relate to major irritation over tourists, since I live in a touristy area that gets very, very crowded during the summer (by French and non-French tourists, we have that in common ). I probably shouldn't post when my sugar level is that low. Sorry again. I'm taking evening classes to resurrect my secondary school French and I have family in France, so I'm not anti-France.

Fri, 9th Nov '07, 8:28am	#22
Shell Awww, come and give me a big hug! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: the deadmines Posts: 2,464 Like: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post vBActivity - Stats XP: 6,209 Level: 24 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 32.76% Daily Activity 3.42% Weekly Activity 2.94% Monthly Activity 2.76% Achievements	Hey, what about Ireland!

Fri, 9th Nov '07, 10:34am	#25
Taluntain SPS Account Holder Founder Resident Alpha and Omega Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Cori Celesti Posts: 20,808 Blog Entries: 13 Like: 159 Liked 123 Times in 80 Posts vBActivity - Stats XP: 53,170 Level: 58 vBActivity - Bars Level Completion: 50.18% Daily Activity 71.92% Weekly Activity 174.25% Monthly Activity 105% Achievements Awards	No, most Italians speak nothing but Italian, actually. The younger ones might know a few words of English, but that's about it.