[Idyllchat] Increased Cost of European Travel

[Russell Crum]

Eleanor,

I don't think any of us are very happy about the falling value of the  
USD, especially when I look back at a European trip as recent as 2002  
and realize that since then the Euro $1.50/Euro vs $1.00/Euro then.  
If only we had brought back a LOT of Euros instead of the usual 50-60  
that we keep as a "starter" for the next trip!

We will be back in Europe next fall in spite of the increased cost.  
Our plans are to try to eat a bit more modestly than before. Probably  
work a bit harder at seeking out off the beaten track restaurants,  
grab more food at local markets instead of sit down meals, etc. It is  
pretty difficult to find a lot of places to cut down if you are  
already using modest lodging and not shoppers. On recent trips we  
have already switched to mostly cash instead of credit cards for most  
foreign expenses to avoid the nasty surcharge tacked on by the credit  
card companies. Fortunately our bank does not charge anything for  
foreign ATM transactions, so the switch to cash has been a winner.

One way we have looked at it is that it is unlikely the USD is going  
to come back for quite some time, maybe never. The "gold ole days" of  
the high value of the USD may be just that! We are not going to get  
younger and more agile by sitting around waiting for the USD to come  
back! As long as one can make room in the budget for travel, go for it!

My 2 cents worth.

Russ


On Mar 30, 2008, at 14:01 , Eleanor Fleming wrote:
> Is anyone out there concerned, as I am, about the falling dollar  
> and plans made to travel to Europe this summer and early fall?  We  
> have made arrangements to travel to Germany (Rhine/Bavarian Castle  
> Sampler) stopping in London for 3 days on the way in late August- 
> Early September. Do any of you who have been to Europe recently  
> have any hints for minimizing our expenses.
> Ellie_______________________________________________
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