Changing Dollars, Euros
or Pounds to the local currency
Be very careful where
you exchange your money! There appear to be few regulations to
protect tourists, and the rates vary wildly.
Basically, there are two ways
currency exchanges make their money.
The first is their spread between what they buy, vs sell,
currencies.
The second is with transaction fees.
OK, there's a 3rd way they make their money- because people
invariably buy more local currency than they need. The truth is that
virtually everyone takes credit cards, so there's rarely a need to
have more than $200 equivalent in local currency.
A couple typical (and very expensive) currency
exchanges.
In the photo above is a currency
exchange at the Eurostar terminal in Paris, but it might as well be
at any airport or, for that matter, a Thomas Cook
agency isn't much better.
Why? What makes it so bad? A closeup of the rates on the right
(found on the Champ Elysees in Paris, ironically across the street
from the all-time best exchange place I've ever found) tells the
story.
They'll buy Euros from you for $1.14, and sell them to you for
$1.29. The larger the spread between buy & sell, the greater cut
they're taking from you. For $1, they're selling you .78 euros (you
should always bring a pocket calculator with you, since you need to
divide 1/1.288 to get the rate per dollar, so you can more easily
compare things).
But wait, there's more. This place, as do most, also charges a
transaction fee, ranging from 3-5%, depending upon the amount.
So if you want, say, 200 euros, it will cost you 1.288 * 200 =
$257.60 plus a $10.30 transaction fee (4%) for a total of
$267.90.
Hotels can be even worse; the one I stayed at in Paris was .70
euro/dollar, making the total $286.
Now let's check out a much more favorable
currency exchange!
This one, located in the Galeria du
Claridge shopping mall on the Champ Elysees, has a better exchange
rate to begin with. $.81 per euro. But wait, there's more. NO
TRANSACTION FEES regardless of amount. So, if you want to buy
200 euros, do a bit of math again... divide 1/.81 to get 1.23/euro,
so your total, for 200 euros, will cost you $246. That's over $20
less than across the street.
By the way, the "official" exchange rate at the time was about $1.20
euro/dollar, so their cut was 2.5%.
It sounds more complicated than it really is.
All you really care about is this-
if you give the guy, say, $300... what do you get back in euros (or
pounds or whatever). Ask that question before handing them any
money!!! Once you've passed money to them, the transaction is
final, you can't back out.
But again, what you should watch out for, are large price
differences between what they'll buy vs sell a currency, as well as
any transaction fees.
The relatively-obscure location of Galerie du
Claridge in Paris
According to the number on the
building, it's 74 rue Champ Elysees, but the easiest way to find it
is the fnac store next door. The actual exchange business is maybe
100 feet off the street, on the right-hand side of the hallway.
Unfortunately, I'm not yet aware of something equivalent in London.
Best "Fast Food" at Paris (and now some London
locations) Airports & the Eurostar station.
"Paul" makes fantastic sandwiches
that you won't break your teeth biting into, and with many more
options than just Jambon (ham) our Poulet (chicken). Fairly
reasonable prices too.
English is spoken almost exclusively at the airport & train station
locations, but at their Champ Elysees and Opera stores, it will be
good to learn a few basics about ordering food in French.
Nothing so special about the Eurostar
But nothing so bad about it either.
1st & 2nd classes are similar to their counterparts on the French
TGV, although the price differential is quite a bit larger between
the two classes, probably because 1st class on the Eurostar includes
a meal.
The trip is a bit under 3 hours, and not terribly exciting (the time
in the tunnel under the channel is actually pretty short).
Security & passport control is at the departure end, and while they
tell you to arrive 30 minutes before departure, I think that's
cutting things way too close. 45 minutes would be advisable.
Nice terminal in London (at Waterloo Station)
Very similar design to France's TGV
terminal in Avignon. However- the Waterloo station really isn't near
much, so you're going to be taking a cab ride (if you have luggage;
otherwise you can take their subway system, called "the tube" or
"the underground").
About London cabs- They're expensive, and it's self-serve as far as
luggage goes. That's right, you can look like you're overwhelmed,
exhausted, overloaded, and the cab driver is just going to be
sitting there while you hoist your luggage into the cab, right next
to you. At least the drivers seem very friendly!
Security on the London Subway wasn't as obvious
as I thought it might be.
Considering that we arrived in London on June 25th, just a couple
days after their 2nd series of attempted terrorist bombings, I was
somewhat surprised not to see armed guards (or any guards at all) on
the actual trains.
There were a fair number of security people in the stations,
however.
Did I feel safe riding "the tube?" Yes, although I did pay attention
to anyone with a backpack, and made sure never to carry one on "the
tube" myself.
What are the Must-See things in London?
If you're there during the summer,
I'd highly recommend catching the
BBC "Proms" series at the
Royal Alber Hall. This is a beautiful setting for a casual night out
(no fancy dress code!).
The "Proms" series
basically plays a greatest hits selection of classical music; we saw
a performance that included Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Tickets are available on-line, where you may pay for them by credit
card and pick them up at the door, about one hour before the concert
begins.
Please note there are no local opportunities for food in the area!
But if you plan ahead, there are a number of restaurants at Royal
Albert Hall itself which may be booked with your ticket. We did
manage to snag a meal at their "Cafe" which, thankfully, hadn't been
booked solid that night (but I wouldn't count on that always being
the case).
For my FlyerTalk friends on the 'net, this is a
poor photo of the United Airlines RCC (Red Carpet Club) at London's
Heathrow Airport.
The RCC is a much nicer place to
wait for your flight to depart than the very crowded main terminal,
and includes serve-yourself basic drinks and some munchies. Power to
plug in your laptop is also available, as well as tables, comfy
chairs and a few internet-connected computers that are constantly in
use. Wi-Fi is an extra charge, about $18 for 3 hours, if I recall
correctly.
How do you get into the RCC? You need to be flying either business
or first class (I'd upgraded, using miles, to business class for my
return) or have very high status with the airline.
Still not sure what all the hoopla is all about
regarding the "warm" bowls of nuts United serves in business & first
class, but here's a picture to show
they still exist. But note that they're loaded with a pretty heavy
percentage of walnuts, which I don't recall being the case on a trip
last year.
United's new exit signage?
Sharon, a very nice FA on our LHR/ORD
flight, having a bit of fun with a "Depart" sign we'd snagged from
one of the stages of the Tour de France.
And now for something completely
practical-
If you've got a cell phone, laptop,
and maybe even digital cameras that all require battery chargers,
you quickly discover that hotel rooms rarely have many plugs. What
to do? Simple! You buy the appropriate adapter for the wall socket
(France & England use different ones, by the way), and plug those
into a simple 3-way outlet, like you see here.
Regarding laptops & the Internet- Wi-fi & high-speed ethernet
are becoming increasingly common in hotels in both England & France,
but be prepared to pay quite a bit for the privilege, typically
$15-30 per day!
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