converting dollars to euros,, hair dryer and cell phone plugs, communicatin

I think you left out the question about whether or not it's acceptable to wear shorts...

1) Only as much as you have in your wallet 2) Nowhere, get your money from an ATM 3) Yes 4) Check with your bank on their withdrawl limit 5)Use a credit card 6)Defer the question on the cell phone, but not likely, you'll need a voltage converter for the hair dryer 7) Deferred 8) Partially deffered, but cheap 20 euro Vodafon's work throughout Europe 9) Depends on the hotel, but most do not charge.

Just look around a bit on this site and you will see that all your questions have been discussed extensive during the pass couple of weeks. Short answers -- Don't take US cash. ATMs give local currency, Have you bank increase your daily limit or take two cards. No, you need adapters for your plugs. Communicate with who? Yes, you can get international cell phones. Depends on the plan, ask the provider. You email are free if the hotel has free internet -- so do not and charge a fee.

barbara, If this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend pre-reading Europe Through The Back Door as that will answer a lot of your questions. Regarding your questions: > Put your US$ away when you leave for Europe. The rates to exchange them won't be favourable! You might consider getting €50-100 or so for "travel funds" to pay for meals or whatever until you get settled. > The ATM's in France and Italy will provide only the local currency (Euros). > You might contact your Bank and review your daily withdrawal limit. Note that sometimes the Euro banks will have different limits. Also, your travel funds must usually be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. I would recommend taking TWO ATM cards, so that you have a "backup" if there's an issue with your primary card. > If you need more cash, withdraw the maximum each day from the ATM's. That's another good reason to have two ATM cards on different accounts. DON'T forget to tell your Bank you'll be travelling, so they don't "freeze" your cards when the see the difference in spending patterns. > Your Cell phone and Hair Dryer Plugs won't work in either country without Plug Adapters. These are inexpensive and easily obtained at Magellan's or other travel stores. The Euro style has tow round pins. > A more important question is whether your Cell phone and Hair Dryer are designed for "world operation" from 100-240VAC. If this is NOT the case, they will self-destruct as soon as you connect to the outlet (possibly with a colourful display of smoke and sparks). You need to check EACH APPLIANCE you'll be travelling with. Look for the words "Input Voltage" somewhere on the device or the Charger. continued......

barbara - part 2..... > You'll also need to determine if your Cell phone is compatible with the European cell networks. Which cell network are you with in the U.S.??? The phone handset MUST BE a GSM phone and MUST HAVE the Euro frequency bands. > It is possible to get "international Cell phones". You might have a look at the websites for the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Call In Europe, Cellular Abroad, Telestial or Mobal. These firms offer phones or SIM cards for use in Europe. BE SURE to check their respective rate structures carefully, so that you have some idea on the costs. Note that most of these operate on a "post pay" basis, with calls charged to a credit card. One disadvantage of this method is that if the phone is lost or stolen, the client is usually "on the hook" for charges until the theft is reported. The post-paid approach is preferable (IMHO) to the pre-pay or PAYG approach, where one has to "pre-load" the phone with a bucket of minutes. If one runs out of minutes in the middle of call, the call is terminated. When the minutes are depleted these must be topped-up. > Some Hotels provide free computers for their guests, and others charge a small fee for these. There's often only ONE computer to be shared by all guests, so it's sometimes difficult to get access. That's why many (including myself) are now travelling with Netbooks, which can access the net using Wi-Fi. One other point to note is that the Keyboard layout varies by country, so using local computers in each country will mean using the "hunt & peck" method of typing (I have particular difficulty with the Keyboards in France, which is one reason I always take a Netbook now). Hope this helps?

Thank you all for your good advice.