Which doesn't simplify road-sign reading I'm afraid.

Lest we deter Tony or anyone else from running out and buying those plane tickets, I would say that I find driving around Europe pretty easy for a furriner with near-zero command of any language other than English (and even that's a stretch). For one, there's all of the mostly standardized symbolic and even Anglicized signage (Stop signs that say "Stop", even). Also, I find that the way roudabouts get used make it easy to get where you're going in places like France -- "Centre Ville" or "Autres Directiones", take your pick! If I can keep focused on the "Do Not Enter" and "One Way" stuff, the rest is easy.