Have you ever dreamed of traveling to Europe but thought it to be too expensive? The recent move in the Euro vs the US Dollar may make that dream way more affordable than you thought. The Euro is almost at parity with the dollar with 1 Euro buying 1.02 USD as of July 6, as I am writing this post. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you think of traveling to Europe. Keep in mind this is my first hand experience as I am in Italy for the July 4th holiday.
First, inflation hasn’t affected Europe nearly as much as the USA. You can still go to the grocery and get a ton of food for 100 euro or about $102. Also one of our favorite places to eat pizza is L’antica Pizzeria da Michele in Naples. It’s the pizza place where Julia Roberts eats in the movie Eat, Pray, Love. It offers a great pizza, there is an hour wait and it’s been in business since 1870. When we visited in 2018, it was 5 euro for a pizza, fast-forward 5 years, it’s still 5 euro.
Second, get your walking shoes ready. So basically I average 8,200 steps a day in the USA but since I’ve been in Europe I’ve averaged 16,000 steps a day.
Third, relax and recharge. You know what they say: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Pick one thing to do each day, then lounge and take it all in for the rest of the day.
Lastly, save up and set a goal to go. This trend is probably only going to get better for Americans, but don’t let this opportunity pass you by. For my recommendation, Italy is my favorite because it has it all. Good scenery, good food, ancient history waiting to be found and a good value.