poldy wrote:
to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

It does seem gradually there's more and more Italians who speak English
though.


I know there are language schools and such but there are other things
I'd rather do than go to class. Definitely not a slow traveler.

If I planned to spend any time in a country (like France) I made an
effort to learn some of the language. Of course, having sung in
several, I had a smattering of them (although my phrasing may have been
poetic and dated). I always managed at least "please", "thank you",
"good morning", "good evening", various menu items and "where are the
toilets?". (Except in Hungary - a matter of pronunciation, I guess,
since even my "thank you" drew blank stares - although "kava!" with a
desperate expression on my face DID produce coffee in a Budapest
restaurant.)

I once had an amusing experience trying to communicate with a
chambermaid in my Vienna hotel - seems she was Slavic, and spoke no more
German than I did!