helpless guests, what to do...???

[B&B netherlands]

new arrivals today, for 5 nights, from france. they don't speak english.

trying to explain in my best french (...) how to use the jacuzzi, they said 'only to want to use the shower over the bath'.

no, i do not keep a house book with explanations in x languages.

well, for the last hour, i've heard them try on and on, to get the jacuzzi working. they obviously have no idea, that the bl**dy thing only works if the bath tub is filled up to 5 cms above the jets. they keep filling up the bath, restarting the jets -to no avail...

i can hear all this happening, sitting behind my laptop... one floor lower.

i was also not prepared for this question:

'where can we tonight have a nice picnic in a park locally with the food we brought...?'

mrs. guest pointing at the really HUGE portable fridge-like container (never saw anything like it before)

i guess they brought their own food for the next 5 days?

also NO idea their stay had to be paid cash up front at arrival, though i DID mention that in my email conforming their booking.

'no, i cannot take credit card payments or cheques'.

ah - i think they've given up on the jacuzzi...

they are really nice people, polite, and i will make them a very lush sunday breakfast with local specialities: 'zeeuwse bolussen' en 'boerenkaas'!

but the jacuzzi problem, pffff

should i offer to fill up their bath, if they want...?

normally, i never interfere with my guests.

i empty the waste paper basket, hang up the wet towels left on the floor (only fresh ones every 3 days), air the room, take the breakfast leftovers as well as the used crockery and glasswork downstairs to wash, mop up if needed in the bathroom... take the hairs out of the bath and (men need shaving - i know) the washing basin - and still like having guests!

[Nemo]

Use Google translate? Say what you want to say as simply as possible and then pop it in to translate, then either show them your laptop or copy and paste on to a word doc to print out. I used it to communicate with a Portugese car hire firm recently. As long as you both know it's not 100% accurate!

[Ecosse]

It might be easier to just show them, if it's something as simple as 'fill up 5 cm over jets? They sound a reasonable family and would probably prefer a demonstration to a list of instructions.

[Normandie]

normally, i never interfere with my guests.

Sometimes not interfering can cross the line into not helping. I cannot believe that you sat and listened to them struggling with the jacuzzi for an hour and left them to it.

Don't be surprised if your French guests are wary of non-standard (to them) things for breakfast - often (but not always) I find they will take a croissant, some baguette, butter and jam but granola, compote, yogurts, etc, are left untouched. Not a problem; it's not odd or unusual in any way.

It's interesting that you react to them arriving with food in a refrigerated container - a Belgian friend locally has a gîte and a lot of Dutch guests... who all arrive fully stocked with home-purchased food from milk to packets of rice and pasta so travelling with food is not unusual nor a nationality thing and anyway, unless you've looked inside the fridge, you don't know whether it may packed with Dutch specialities they've bought en route.

Otherwise I'd do what Casscat suggests - simple phrases and sentences in Google translate and print them out. I manage to communicate with a variety of nationalities who have little English and no French and it's no big deal and sending them off for the day with French phrases tailored to what they're going to be doing (bike hire, etc) it's not interfering afaIac.

[Bunny]

I think you need to intervene otherwise you could end up with damage as it won't do it any good keep turning it on and off without adequate water.

Both ideas above are good. It shouldn't be too difficult to get them to understand by gesticulating and miming.

Good luck.

[Hells Bells]

We also have a plug in cool box for our car which is useful for chilling water in the summer, keeping food cool from the supermarket on the journey (we usually stop just before lunch and fo some food shopping, and for emergency pork pies for the journey . It will also plug into the mains in the house if we need the extra space (useful for drinks if we're having people round for dinner).

[rammy100]

Definitely try Google Translate as Nemo and Normandie suggest.

I used it on a tablet once with a Russian in Hungary (I was the guest this time). We spoke into it and it spoke the answer at the press of a button. Worked perfectly.

As far as the jacuzzi goes, yes demonstrate how to use it, with a smile.

I'm sure they will love your breakfasts. Amsterdam was one of the first non-UK cities I visited as a young adult and I remember loving all the ham, cheese, different breads and jams that were piled up in front of me. I still prefer continental breakfasts after all these years.

[B&B netherlands]

thank you all so much for your support! we've actually solved it, in a combination of gestures and some text via google i memorized.

about the cool box: they've travelled quite a distance yesterday, so very practical to have one stocked up with things like water. it is right now, connected to the mains, as they changed their mind and instead of going by car into very busy amsterdam, they followed my advice and went by bus.

and they gratefully thanked me for the supply of 'stroopwafels' - (crispy syrup waffles) which they said were very good! so i am not afraid they don't like to try new things to eat.

i sort of try to cater 'per nationality' , which for a breakfast is not always easy. i've had visitors from some 20 different countries, all over the world...

especially when people stay longer than 1-2 nights, variation in what i serve is important to me.

yoghurt is seldomly asked for, americans prefer corn flakes with milk, british guests never expect a fully cooked breakfast (thank god!) but my home made bread is always a hit! (for the early birds, who need to leave before 7 am, to catch a plane or train...)

[Bunny]

I've just had Dutch guests leave. They left me a lovely gift hamper containing Stroopwafels - yum.

One of the other items was a large box of chocolate hundreds and thousands. We only use them occasionally to sprinkle on cakes and ice cream etc. I think in Holland you eat them on everything?

[pambon]

british guests never expect a fully cooked breakfast (thank god!) but my home made bread is always a hit! (for the early birds, who need to leave before 7 am, to catch a plane or train...)

I would Lydia! I LOVE them and have them on the rare occasion I am in a place that serves them......I will let you know in advance!

[B&B netherlands]

bunny, the chocolate sprinklets are normally (?) used to make a thick layer of it on a slice of bread...

my son who lives in paris, introduced the 'stroopwafels' locally

visiting me, he always takes back at least 10 packages of 10.

he and his french wife also 'introduced' indonesian cuisine in their circle of french friends - this food is my 'speciality'. so i organised a 'work shop' in my kitchen, taught them 5 different dishes to make - they copied it a week later, for 12 (!) people - and there were NO leftovers!

nice to read rammy, you liked the dutch breakfasts so much you kept eating 'continental breakfasts'...

it reminds me of a 3 month visit of the 2 young children of good friends, after the crisis in albania, who stayed here - albanians eat mostly leftovers for breakfast - from the dinner of the night before.

coming back, they simply refused to eat these leftovers and 'demanded' bread, cheese and ham! plus the chocolate sprinklets of course

[Nemo]

british guests never expect a fully cooked breakfast (thank god!) but my home made bread is always a hit! (for the early birds, who need to leave before 7 am, to catch a plane or train...)

I would Lydia! I LOVE them and have them on the rare occasion I am in a place that serves them......I will let you know in advance!

Me too pambon, although I struggle to fit them in at breakfast time. A cafe serving an all day breakfast is one of my holiday treats! I do love a varied breakfast though where the host or establishment offers a different dish each day as well as the usual offerings.

[B&B netherlands]

pambon i also LOVE a cooked breakfast! tasted so many during my trips through the UK, scotland and ireland...

after that we've usually skipped lunch...

i did once in a while make it - but never as good as those i ate! f.i. the thick bacon slices are very hard to get here, as no butcher understands what i want... 'we' eat it thinly sliced, not cooked - on a slice of bread!

[pambon]

british guests never expect a fully cooked breakfast (thank god!) but my home made bread is always a hit! (for the early birds, who need to leave before 7 am, to catch a plane or train...)

I would Lydia! I LOVE them and have them on the rare occasion I am in a place that serves them......I will let you know in advance!

Me too pambon, although I struggle to fit them in at breakfast time. A cafe serving an all day breakfast is one of my holiday treats! I do love a varied breakfast though where the host or establishment offers a different dish each day as well as the usual offerings.

Nemo, when the parents were alive we had a semi full English cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings after church, it also included delicious French croissant bought locally near the church (no that wasn't the reason we attended church!!). The last time I was in the UK was for 4 days in 2011 staying in a London hotel and on the last morning I literally stuffed myself with a FULL English breakfast knowing that I probably would not be visiting the UK ever again. I still dream of it......!!!!

[Pendragon]

B&B when you put the chocolate sprinkles on bread do you put butter on the bread or condensed milk? My mental image when i read it was of condensed milk, no idea why, but I must have seen it somewhere.