Monday, April 14, 2008

Welcome to Europe! Bend Over, s'il vous plait*.

Thanks to Bush and his innovative "worthless dollar" economic policy, my first purchase in Europe was, well.....nothing. A devastating 1.75 to 1 exchange rate plus a 3.50 exchange charge whittled my meager $200 US down to just over 100 Euros. The cashier didn't laugh out loud, but I could tell he was just barely keeping that in.

I walked away in a shocked state, wondering how long my meager 100 Euros would last. I soon found out not too long.

HINTS:
  • Unless absolutely necessary, never, ever exchange your currency in the airport. To do so is folly, my friend. In this case, I would have been better off eating my dollars. I found an ING bank here in Brussels late in the day offering a better rate ( 1.62 to 1 Ha! Take that Schipol! ).

* As you probably know, they speak Dutch in Amsterdam, not French, but I felt the French sounded so much better to communicate this idea.

No comments: