Damn France!

So Michael and I have been talking about taking a trip to Europe for about a year now, but now we're really closing in on deciding where to go. Last year, we had started with Spain and Germany and the Netherlands and and Iceland and all those little Eastern European countries. We were all over the place. Michael had even gotten me to come around to Paris. Before, I figured I'd go there when I'm old, but I was in no rush. But then we started talking about the food and it went up to the top of my list.

So we renewed our discussion a couple weeks ago. With the exchange rate for the dollar being low, we are debating going to Great Britain and blowing a wad of cash or going to some Eastern European countries and saving a little. Coincidentally, this article about Europe trying to entice Americans to travel came my way. It's in USA Today, so it's short and sweet. All those Europeans were so happy to come here and get good bargains. Ah, but then they realized that with our weak dollar, we were not spending as much of our sad money in their countries. So countries like England and Ireland are coming up with advertising campaigns and discounts to entice American travelers. I'm sure these aren't super great deals, but at least they're doing something. France on the other hand, could care less. Their spokesperson from the Paris Convention and Visitors Office says about the drop in American tourists, "This is somthing we cannot really fight." What the hell? I had finally come around to wanting to go to Paris! See, now I'm going to wait til I'm 70 and the dollar is king again!