[Idyllchat] Re: Money, fannypacks, etc.

[Jerry Clancy]

Great post, Tom. I only "pre-converted", so to speak, once before a trip and the very large bank ripped me off, just as you described, but in that circumstance I had to do it. Likewise, in several dozen trips I've never been accosted, mugged or otherwise threatened, but then I make an effor to blend in. For those who must wear that baseball cap or sports jersey, let me suggest that you buy the local paper, even though you probably can't read a word of it, and carry it around with you. Think of it as insurance. Perhaps they'll think of you as a local with an American fetish.

As for the "Ugly Americans," we fortunately have become much better travellers. 'Twas not always so. I remember having dinner with one of my Italian colleagues back in the '70s and he told me the story of some naïve American tourist who came into his home town back in the '50s, looked at the statue representing the town's founding father in the town square and said, "That's very nice. How much?"

Jerry

From: idyllchat-bounces at lists.untours.com [mailto:idyllchat-bounces at lists.untours.com] On Behalf Of TSchlingel at aol.com
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 12:28 AM
To: RDepue at aol.com; idyllchat at lists.untours.com
Subject: [Idyllchat] Re: Money, fannypacks, etc.

I guess I have a different opinion on this.  In the St. Louis Metro area only one bank out of probably 50-75 will sell Euros.  Their charge is about a 5-7 percent premium on the exchange.  In addition, they apply a flat extra charge if you don't have an account of some kind with the bank.
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