Wow ... what a nice report DeputyDog. Nothing like the old Club O. beach and catching a bite at the Perch. But, I may have some suggestions that you can use for dealing with things on the French side of the island. Hope you don't mind me sharing this with you. I did not take French as a second language in high school, but once my wife and I started traveling to places like St. Martin, St. Barths, and the actual French Riviera itself I decided it would help if I learned their language a little bit. Enough so that I could read menus or labels on products, and be able to converse to some degree with the locals who either don't speak good english or choose not to. What a difference that made many years ago, and I can say honestly I've never had any problems on French St. Martin. The french people genuinely tend to appreciate the efforts my wife and I have made to speak their language, and usually everyone cracks up when I really say something incorrectly!

Everyone knows that 'merci' means thank you, but far too many people don't know how to say 'please' in french and I learned that was huge. So, I got use to saying "s'il vous plait" a whole lot when I wanted or needed something. You pronounce this like 'SEE VOO PLAY.' This really goes long way. And, one other thing I do when I'm at a restaurant (i.e., Yellow Sub, etc.) or a grocery store and I am conversing with an employee is say "Je parle un petit peu francais" which lets them know that I only speak a little French! It's pronounced 'ZHUH PARL UHN PUHTEE POO FRAHN-SAY'. I've added a lot since then, and it made a marked difference when shopping, dining, etc. on the french side. After all, we all know what "plage naturiste" means!

I really believe that when people from the States and Canada (except for Quebec) make speaking attempts like this the locals appreciate it very much. I look forward to reading your trip reports, and hope you have a great time on one of my all time favorite islands!