Currency Issues

Using foreign currency does not have to be confusing.

I find it best to find out how much it would cost in U.S. dollars to buy one Euro and then multiply that amount by the cost in euros.

The dollar has gained a bit in value recently. :-)

The website I use to keep an eye on exchange rates is:
www.x-rates.com

In 2006 the rate has ranged from as little as $1.20 in Feb and March to as high as $1.30 in June. It currently is around $1.26 to buy one Euro.

So today if I wanted to buy something with a price of 10 Euros, it would cost around $12.60.

Of course the "official" exchange rate is not the exact one used by banks and businesses. They will use a slightly different one or tack on a fee for the exchange service. Credit card companies do the same.

By doing some research and talking with Swiss friends, I find while we are in Geneva, Switzerland we will not have to exchange Euros into Swiss Francs, the official currency there (those Swiss are so independent!).
However if you pay with cash in Euros, you will receive change in Swiss Francs. (This is similar to what happens when we use American dollars to buy something in Canada.) The easiest way to purchase something would be to use a debit or credit card.

While on vacation I try to be knowledgeable but not overly concerned with exchange rates and just enjoy the trip. :-)

Our hotels

In Lyon: Hôtel des Artistes
www.hoteldesartistes.fr

In Annecy: Hôtel Bonlieu
www.annecybonlieuhotel.fr

In Paris: Hôtel de L'Empereur
www.hotelempereur.com

Pam has done a wonderful job of finding great hotels for us in excellent locations. Check them out! We welcome comments or questions.

Webcams

As we come across them we will add links to webcams.

Here is a great site with a selection of Paris webcams as well as the current time, temperature (in C and F), and weather forecast. You can also check out other links there. I enjoy listening to French live radio
music (Chérie FM) which has a surprising number of selections in English!

www.paris-live.com

Good Book?

Please feel free to comment on this or any other book you would like to recommend to the group.

Judy Enger gave an excellent suggestion for a book entitled:
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. I just finished it and it is an awesome work by an author who started writing it in the early 1940s while trying to flee the Nazis in France. It is not your typical WWII novel but gives an excellent insight into life in France at that time. She wrote it while under duress, but was deported to Auschwitz and was unable to finish the book. Her daughter gathered up her notes and had the book published 60 years after her death.