We did find it useful to have a translation app to hand. A bar may advertise Latte in English as a coffee option, but that doesn’t mean that the girl behind the bar understands what you mean if you speak English when you order. It does all seem to pander to the Brit abroad without taking into consideration the poor French person who’s English may not be that good. The French are helpful if you at least try to speak French, even with an appalling accent and mid google

Still, there is such a thing as fear of the foreign menu. Standing under a leaky umbrella staring at the menu of a Michelin starred restaurant in Falaise, it soon became apparent that we could google until our fingers fell off, but we still wouldn’t have a clue what we were ordering. And anyway, I decided giving my brolly a vigorous shake and getting back in the car to go find a less complicated place to eat, it would most likely be Haute Cuisine. Small portions of meat and two veg in artistic heaps, decorated by strategically placed blobs of stuff that ought to come in serving boats. I have been there before and hail from Industrial Middle England. Plates are for filling, not for fannying about with.