As I am about to take off on a driving mini-tour of Holland, Belgium, and France, I wondered how many of you tried to learn any of the languages of the Country you were visiting for your holidays. Did you try to learn some basics (please, thank you, etc.), were you more adventurous (trying to learn a little more, covering accomodation, food & drink, shopping,etc.), did you take a phrase book to rely on, or did you just not bother. For my holiday I have been 'revisiting' my Dutch and French, trying to improve it because it is many years since I last used them!

i love going on foriegn hols, and always learn a bit of the language. the locals like it too. i go to thailand a lot, and every time i go i learn a little more. i love it and so do my thai friends