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

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

Alberto,
Uncle Sam is only "pulling your leg". By all means come on over. 'Mericans are aware of the fantastic exchange rate the euro enjoys.

As a special favor to all euro-zone visitors, US banks and merchants have some specials for y'all:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Have a nice stay,

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.

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