Looking for ice in Paris...

Sophie got sick a few days before out trip to Paris. She had a strep throat, and was prescribed some antibiotic in an oral solution that needed to be refrigerated right before we left Colchester. There was no refrigerator in our hotel room, as we were wishfully hoping there was. So we had to get creative to keep the medicine at a low temperature. We had a fast food restaurant across from the hotel room, so I figured I could get a cup with ice in it, and keep the medicine container in there so it would stay cool. So we used google translate to conjure up a sentence to ask for some ice there... this is what google suggested:

So I practiced this sentence for a bit, then headed out for some "glace". Well, it was a disaster...not only was there a huge line, but when I get to the front and it is my turn I tell her the sentence I practiced and she didn't understand me. So I do what everyone does in such a situation...repeat it, slower this time. Same result...so she then goes for the ice cream machine, she was going to serve me some ice cream. So I call her again, and try to explain, in English, then in French again...she still didn't seem to grasp what I needed. So I pointed to the soda machine, and she finally got it. That must not have been more than a minute or two total, but it felt like an eternity. I had forgotten what it was like to struggle to be understood. I had not struggled with language in years...since we moved to the US when I was ten to be exact. We "studied" some french on our own for a few months before this trip in hopes of being able to communicate, but it was in vain. We failed miserably at speaking and understanding French.

Once I was back at the hotel room, I tried to figure out why that had gone so badly. Was I just not saying it right at all? Not even close enough to be understood? What was I saying? I posted about it on facebook, and one of my friends, whose mother knows French said the word for ice cubes in French is "glaçon". "Glace" is used for ice cream, which would explain the ice cream she was trying to serve me! From that day forward, at least I knew the right term, and it was easier to get some ice for the medicine...