Why yes, I do have similar anecdotes I could share! In reverse order to your telling...
I took a trip to visit WWII obscure sites with a friend a few years ago. Our deal was that my friend would do the driving, and I would do the navigating and be responsible for the French (although it had been 25+ years since I'd studied it.) We also (very daring for me!) resolved to not book hotels in advance but play it by ear. One night, we stopped in a Belgian hotel and I boldly asked for "une chambre, avec deux lits, s'il vous plaît." And apparently my accent was so bad that the innkeeper tried to help me out by switching to... Flemish!
And in the category of most memorable falls abroad, I must limit my scope to Canada and the victim was my sister-in-law, not me (although I was on the trip with her). She tripped in the parking lot of a McDonalds in Toronto and broke her ankle. And the helpful EMT (Canadians are so friendly) looked up at the golden arches as he strapped her onto the ambulance gurney and said, "You deserve a break today, eh?"
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I took a trip to visit WWII obscure sites with a friend a few years ago. Our deal was that my friend would do the driving, and I would do the navigating and be responsible for the French (although it had been 25+ years since I'd studied it.) We also (very daring for me!) resolved to not book hotels in advance but play it by ear. One night, we stopped in a Belgian hotel and I boldly asked for "une chambre, avec deux lits, s'il vous plaît." And apparently my accent was so bad that the innkeeper tried to help me out by switching to... Flemish!
And in the category of most memorable falls abroad, I must limit my scope to Canada and the victim was my sister-in-law, not me (although I was on the trip with her). She tripped in the parking lot of a McDonalds in Toronto and broke her ankle. And the helpful EMT (Canadians are so friendly) looked up at the golden arches as he strapped her onto the ambulance gurney and said, "You deserve a break today, eh?"