Dear RobertR<BR>What I don't understand I guess, is taking a couple of examples and then making general pronouncements about equating two expensive places with &quot;snob appeal&quot;, a provocative and unfair statement.<BR><BR>If you see no need or see no value in expensive restaurants or hotels, great.<BR>If I DO find value in a wide range of places, good for me too. Value is a perception. I found tremendous value in my expensive meal in Da Fiore. If you paid much less ten years ago, I'm not at all surprised, but that could lead to a complicated analysis of market demands, yes, hype, Venice's local economy, great publicity on Da Fiore in lots of &quot;foodie&quot; publications, etc etc. I did spend a lot, felt lucky to be able to dine there, in that case my companion and I thought it well worth it, a good value. Others have agreed.<BR><BR>On the other hand, IMO Harry's Bar should not be mentioned in the same league, for me it was an overpriced, crowded, tourist trap. If someone else has found value there and enjoyed themselves, good for them. I won't go there again. <BR><BR>Please don't assume that YOU understand value but that I or others can't discriminate between what we like and what we don't like, that somehow we are blinded by how much we are paying or by what we have read. I live in New York; I am pretty well versed in daily attempts to overcharge me for things; but people from anywhere who value their hard-earned dollars arejust as adept at separating their own wheat from their own chaff.<BR><BR>There is an old saying (maybe Oscar Wilde?) about people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.<BR>I try to determine the value, in my own terms. I'm sure you do as well.<BR>Cheers.