Our short jaunt into the world of the Euro was an eye-opener. Up until then, we firmly believed that we live in the most expensive country on the planet – not so!

The 'fun' began when I wheeled our suitcase-laden trolley towards the Exit sign at the Leonardo da Vinci airport outside Rome. "Welcome to Italy! I bet you're looking for a taxi to take you to your hotel!" The guy was smooth, well-dressed, good-looking and smiling. A con-artist, I was sure. The alternative was the train, lugging the cases on and off, buying tickets in a strange language and reading and understanding the signs using the few words I remember from Latin I so many years ago.

"How much?" I asked.

"The price is 75 Euros, sir."

I convert. 375 Shekels. "Forget it! Too expensive! Which way to the train?"

"Well seeing as you are a tourist and because I'm feeling really good today, I offer you a special discount – 70 Euros, sir." 350 shekels. I mentally hate myself and accept. I only found out how deep hatred can run when I ordered a taxi at the hotel when we departed 2 weeks later for the same airport. When I asked how much it would cost, the concierge pointed to a printed sign on the desk: "Taxi to Leonardo da Vinci airport – 45 Euros". And don't pay a cent more than that, said the concierge.

The Euro is a monster and everything cost at least a Euro, compared to Israel where there are still a few items that cost a shekel, one-fifth of a Euro. On a quick visit to a toilet at a museum, the attendant pushed a plate at me and gestured for me to drop something in the plate. I took a look first, expecting to see 20 cent coins. Nothing under a 1 Euro coin. Tips in the restaurant are rounded up to the next Euro. We stopped at a sandwich shop in Venice and bought sandwiches for 2 or 3 Euros each. Then my wife pointed at the fridge standing in the corner and I took out a bottle of water for her. Next to the water stood the beers and I grabbed a bottle of Corona. I handed over a 20 Euro note, pocketed the change without looking at it and we left.

We sat on a bench in small park eating our sandwiches and as I lifted the bottle of Corona to drink, I saw a price label. I fell off the bench - It was 12 Euros, 60 shekels in my language. Exorbitantly expensive.

It seems that Italy has climbed on the Euro wagon and rolled all the prices upwards. We tourists from non-Euro currency countries have a hard time with these prices.

Tags & Keywords : Travel, Italy, Euro