Good bye Holiday Inn, Hello Four Seasons !
 

With a strong Euro we, in the Euro countries will have the «cheapest» holidays in the USA since the seventies.<BR>Yes,Good bye Holiday Inn, hello Four Seasons !<BR>

On no, does this mean I picked the wrong year to take the kids to Italy?

Alberto,<BR>Uncle Sam is only "pulling your leg". By all means come on over. 'Mericans are aware of the fantastic exchange rate the euro enjoys.<BR><BR>As a special favor to all euro-zone visitors, US banks and merchants have some specials for y'all:<BR><BR>Shops/hotels/auto rental agencies now have 2 prices: one in US dollars, the other in euros (at a special rate 3euros=1USD - hurry it's supposed to be 5 to 1 next week. <BR><BR>Bank ATMs will dispense greenbacks against foreign debit/credit cards just like always with only a slight increase in the withdrawal service fee to 97.8% of the withdrawal amount, or maybe it was your available cash/credit, just can't remember now.<BR><BR>Oh, and one other thing, US Customs has a new requirement for euro zone foreign visitors. You must leave all your luggage w/the Customs service for the duration of your stay - can't be too careful you know. <BR><BR>Of course you can retreive your luggage when you depart the US but make sure you hold onto the receipts -- they give you one receipt for each article you bring in - so expect a slight delay when entering the good ole US of A.<BR><BR>Have a nice stay,<BR>

ttt

Actually, the Euro isn't what anyone considers "strong." It's just returned to a basic par level with the USD, which is where it was supposed to be in the first place! After all, the Euro was originally pegged at 1:1 when introduced.<BR><BR>Friends from France just left and they found the US to be expensive. Hello, Holiday Inn!

I forgot to mention that we were in Amsterdam last month and costs were reasonable. Not quite as good as December, but only a 10% change for the worse.

ttt