Oh please, I could understand my French-speaking friends in Switzerland better than I could understand her husband London born & bred.

I flew back from Dublin to NYC seated next to 2 young Irish men and we had (apparently) a new to international FA. They spilled something and were asking desperately for a serviette - and she didn't have a clue. I said "napkin" - they looked mortified, she gave them a couple and I explained that in the US there is no such word as serviette.

And the thing you put on a baby is a diaper. (I guess if one were desperate and out of diapers one could try a cloth napkin - if you had one - as a temporary solution - but it wouldn't work for very long. I mean a large napkin sort of looks like a cloth diaper - but nothing like a Pampers.)

Yes, the British language is not American English. Just ask for a napkin at a restaurant!>>

In fact, "napkin" IS the proper english word for "serviette" - the queen I'm sure refers to the cloth that she puts on her lap as a napkin.

and you put it in a napkin ring - no-one would say "serviette" ring - though you'd be unlikely to put a serviette in one anyway as they are usually paper.

and everyone calls what you put on a baby's bottom a nappy.

I would recommend you to visit maximum 3 cities, so that you have time to see the main attractions in every one of them. How about Copenhagen, Amsterdam and/or Brussels or if you are looking for warmer cities, you could go for Rome and Barcelona.

serviette, is that like a little service?