"A few minutes from the lake, pain level"
This was in the description of several apartments in Locarno Switzerland.
What does it mean?

I have no idea but I'm most curious! My google searches aren't helping...

I'm guessing wildly here, but perhaps they left out an L, which would make it "plain level," which I would again guess wildly to mean at shore level rather than involving a climb up to a higher level.

Well, Eloise just took the words out of my mouth. That's my guess, too. Ground-floor apartments perhaps.

I'll bet that if you put 'pian terreno' (as St Cirq hints, "ground floor&quot into one of those sites that pretend to translate - but don't - it'll throw up "plain level".

And if you're dumb enough to trust those things, you're probabl;y not too good at reading either.

Hmm..crossed my mind too but was hoping for something more exciting. It's been a very long dull Tuesday in the office!

OK, I'm guessing, but I bet it means that the apartment or house is all on one level. In French, that's "plain-pied".

>..one of those sites that pretend to translate ...<

Gives "plain pied" as "plain foot".

On our visit to France, we shall be staying at a hotel in a room described as "Double bed of lime pit foot with terrace,..".

Ooops,

The French for that is
"Grand lit de plain pied avec terrasse,.."

So that means that the terrace (balcony, whatever) is on the same level as the bed. That sounds a little strange, but I think it means you don't have to go upstairs or downstairs to get the to the balcony.

Plain pied=street level

I went back and reviewed some descriptions with your comments in mind. I believe it may- repeat- may mean "level plain" as Eloise suggested as opposed to up the mountain as some descriptions read "only by foot". All of them could not be ground floor could they?

Could it mean that you have to walk so far from the lake that the apartment is right at the spot where you start to feel leg pain?

(hardy har har)

You are all mixed up. The odd thing is that although Locarno is basically Italian speaking, this description was written by a French speaking person. So here "bread" is spelled in French "pain" instead of Italian "pane". What they were trying to tell us was that due to the altitude of the lake in the mountains, that when you bake bread in this apartment it will not rise properly so you'll have level bread or "pain level". As we all know the adjective always comes after the noun in Romance languages, so the writer was a little mixed up trying to put it in English.

And when I saw this title I wondered what weird travel experience someone wanted, LOL.

There's a famous old collection of this sort of fractured English:

We have ample garage accomodation for your char. In the close village you can buy jolly memorials for when you pass away. I send you my prices. If I am dear to you and your mistress you might perhaps be reduced. We are also noted for having children.

Dear Madam,
I am honorable to accept your impossible request. Unhappy it is, I here have not bedroom with bath. A bathroom with bed I have. I can, though, give you a washing, with pleasure, in a most clean spring, with no person to see. I insist that you will like this.

I am amazing diverted by your entreaty for a room. I can offer you a commodious chamber, with a balcony imminent, to the romantic gorge and I hope you will want to drop in.

A vivacious stream washes my doorsteps, so do not concern youself that I am not too good in bath, I am superb in bed.

Sorrowfully, I cannot abide your auto.

Having freshly taken over the proprietory of this notorious house, I am wishful that you remove to me your esteemed costume. Standing among savage scenery, the hotel offers stupendous revelations. There is a French widow in every bedroom, affording delightful prospects.

I give personal look to the interior wants of each guest. Here, you shall be well fed up, and agreeably drunk. Our charges for weekly visitors are scarcely creditable. Peculiar arrangements for gross parties. Our motto is "Ever Serve You Right".

Oh, Patrick L, those can be such fun.
One I recall, not as sophisticated as yours, was in an Italian deli here in New York.
"Special today:
Boneless eggplant parmigiana."

Thanks to Faina - and hopefully she'll allow me to offer this recent post of hers...

Author: FainaAgain Date: 10/01/2004, 07:02 pm Message: Non-English speaking countries sometimes go out of their way to communicate with their English-speaking tourists:

Cocktail lounge, Norway:
LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.

At a Budapest zoo:
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD,
GIVE IT TO THE GUARD ON DUTY.

Doctor's office, Rome:
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner, Japan:
COOLES AND HEATES: IF YOU WANT CONDITION OF WARM AIR IN YOUR ROOM,
PLEASE CONTROL YOURSELF.

In a Nairobi restaurant:
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the grounds of a Nairobi private school:
NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION.

In Aamchi Mumbai restaurant:
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WEEKENDS TOO.

The best!!! In a Tokyo bar:
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

Hotel, Japan:
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS,
ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

Hotel, Zurich:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist:
TEETH EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS.

A laundry in Rome:
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Tourist agency, Czechoslovakia:
TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS - WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES.

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

The box of a clockwork toy made in Hong Kong:
GUARANTEED TO WORK THROUGHOUT ITS USEFUL LIFE.

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

The best!!!! In a Japanese cemetery:
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

SeaUrchin: LOL !