How much to bring

Rebecca,
... how much have you got?

[seriously, you should construct a budget based on what you know and add, say, 15%].

..... all the best, P

When I go, I have as much cash available in my ATM account as I possibly can get. Probably works out to at least $100 a day for descretionary spending, (as of the exchange rate last time I went) and includes extra $ in case of minor emergencies or a necessary shopping frenzy. (I have traveller's insurance to cover any medical/evacuation cost, so I don't worry about this). When I'm there, I just pace myself, make sure I keep a running balance of the ATM transactions I do each day, (converting to dollars). I always know how much actual $ I have in my ATM and if I need to have a frugal day, or can splurge a bit.

That's great thanks. Is traveler's insurance something I can get if I have already purchased my plane ticket?

Yes -- I use TravelGuard, check their website. There are lots of others.

And you don't have to "bring" it with you. Before you depart, just make sure there is way more money than you think you'll need for cash expenditures already in your checking account that your ATM connects to--that way you'll always have enough.

Remember that current exchange rates are very much against you -- today, $1.00 will buy you €0.40 (not counting the commission). As with life in general, the more money you have available, the better, the less money you feel the need to spend, the better. Don't forgo a nice dinner once in awhile, but don't deny yourself the pleasure of a picnic with food purchased from an open market either.

Rebecca, Sounds like a great trip - I envy you! I've always been fine if I budget the equivalent of $700-$1000 per week. One euro will cost you $1.59 today (up from $1.35 last September), so I'm budgeting at the high end for my May trip to France. Do keep a large balance in your account at home to draw from. And DON'T take money from the ATM daily, unless your transactions/currency conversions are free (most aren't). I get 300e-400e at a time and that usually lasts me half a week. It sounds like you travel as I do - see the sights, eat wonderful food at little bistros and cafes, then splurge once a week. Have fun!

Normally I don't cook at home, and eat out a lot. Being said that, when I go on a trip, I budget just as much as I would here at home

For 2 people, I can estimate $10-$15 for breakfast (ie coffee, danish), $15-20 for lunch, and $25-40 for dinner. So I estmate $50-$70 per day and +15 to 20% fudge factor for the weak dollar.

You can keep the food budget to a realistic amount, and still enjoy a good meal.

Try switch lunch for the "nicer" sit down meal since its cheaper, and dinner for the take out meal... saving us quite a bit of money there.

Here's a good website for the daily exch rate. If you go to the Tools tab....then More...you will see a credit card calculator tab. It will figure the 'hidden' service chg for each transaction. I'm in Paris now and one bank chg was $11 and a different bank was $5.
www.xe.com
The suggestion to get chunks of cash and don't use your debit card for everything is a good one. In Paris, most places have a min of 15e for a charge.

perhaps you've heard the experienced travellers rule of thumb. "take half the baggage and twice the money" you originally planned on. I can verify that after two years of spring vacations on 'the continent'.
good luck