Thank you Walter_Walltotti, - when I go to England I always stay in a B&B though. Better than any travel lodge and cheaper than paying L6 for breakfast! - I will try eating in Brick Lane this trip. I never did that before (I don't know why)

As for the British Museum (and others) being Free ... that is one of the main reasons I am going (again for the 3rd time)

I have learned a lot on this thread. And now I am glad I posted it because I really did get some answers like I wanted. (Economics are so interesting)

Thanks, jsmith :)

No, the dollar will not rise again in the near future. Or probably even the intermediate future. Separating current federal policy from policies of banks and corporations is a false distinction, and it serves their purposes and needs right now to keep the dollar depressed -- or at least to allow it to remain depressed. The only people a depressed dollar hurts are consumers of imported goods and travellers with limited means. Politically, making American goods cheaper and foreign goods more expensive is a plus, and hurting foreign travelers' pockets is not a big minus. As long as we have a stupendous deficit -- the war aside -- the dollar cannot strengthen much, because no one will consider it a reasonable investment, especially as long as the prime rate is also ridiculously low. Will it go lower than it now is? It will if/when there's another terrorist attack that undermines confidence and successfully hurts any sector of the economy -- which it almost certainly would.

It's a little late to advise this, but if you had invested in European assets and currency 3-4 years ago, you'd be pretty happy now. Of course, all world economies are linked over the long haul, and a recession/depression in the US will pull down on others. But in the near- and mid- term, there is almost no aspect of our economic or political strategies that will make the dollar stronger.

the pound has in recent memory always been nearly double the value of the dollar. little chance of it tripling. if your trip was going to cost you 2500, and it rises 10% (unlikely) then it's still only 250 extra dollars.