So, wondering if I will find on here any other fellow tourist doing my tour coming up July 27 - Aug. 3 (Best of Paris in 7 days)..
and...
what's the best way of getting familiar with the "Euros thing"??... (sorry about my casualness... california in me talking). *I won't talk like that in Paris.. ;) * (as I'm not sure how much of the tour I will actually have with me someone that will have my back to help me keep the money part figured out).
Cathy, at its simplest, the Euro is a unit of measure, just like the dollar is a unit of measure. You can continually do the math in your head and it may drive you crazy, or, just make like they are dollars-if the check in the restaurant is 17 euro, you give the waiter a 20 euro note and they give you 3 euros back. As for coins, you will need to get accustomed to them a bit, exact change is often preferred, and it's the polite thing to do. But don't sweat it too much; watch the notes though.
You can see images of euro bills here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_banknotes
And coins here: http://www.eurocoins.co.uk/eurocoinsimagesspecifications.html
The bills and coins decrease in size according to their value (i.e. a 50-euro bill is bigger than a 10-euro bill, and a 2-euro coin is bigger than a 50-eurocent coin), which is a convenient way of organizing them.
Right now, the exchange rate is 73 eurocents to the dollar (I always do the conversion backwards from most people) and will likely fluctuate by the time your trip comes around. When you withdraw euros from an ATM or pay for something with a credit card, It's good to know generally how much you're spending in dollars so that you can keep track of your bank account balance.
Thank you Sara and Dave for your input. Sara - I DID go to your links and open them and read them... Every bit of info puts me at that much more understanding and relief. thank you for taking the time for this currently unsavvy traveller. Cathy.
If you want something you can carry around, go to this link from O and A: http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
On the top, choose "Currency Converter." Put in "US dollars" for "Currency I Have" and "Euros" as "Currency I Want." Then underneath, instead of "Rate Details," choose "Traveler's Cheatsheet." Print this and carry it in your wallet.
Do this the day before you go, so the rates will be as close as possible the ones you are really getting.
Or, you can do the "quick and dirty" approximation - just add a third to the euro prices to estimate US dollars. It will be close enough for most purposes.
One important tip: find out your bank or credit union's maximum withdrawal amount, and convert this into euros. When you arrive, jet lagged, you need to know how much you can withdraw from the ATM, and the machine will not have dollars OR conversions on it; it will just ask how many euros you want. I like to get €480 as my first withdrawal, since this assures me at least one bill smaller than a €50.
Regarding paying for 1/2 my dinners via RS tour. How does THAT work? How do we pay for 1/2 the dinners? What is the system RS's does for this?
Cathy,
You will not be asked to pay half the cost of the dinner. Approximately half of the time, there will be a group dinner and all costs will be paid by RS as part of the tour. You may be asked to pay for wine if you want to order wine (it varies by tour). During the other half of the time, you will be on your own for dinner and the cost will be borne by you. So if your tour is 6 days (the last day counts as a day but the tour is over after breakfast), on three days you will be having dinner with the tour group and it will cost you nothing.
A "7 day tour" is really only 5 full days. You meet for dinner the first day and leave after breakfast on the 7th day.
Hi Cathy,
Sent you a private message.
