Making your money go further in Europe.
For those of us with income outside the euro zone, the current level of the euro is causing some concern when it comes to holidays.
This worry has been exaggerated by many newspapers. if you rent from a company with fixed prices in sterling (UK pounds) and go to the part of Italy in which Gorgacce Rentals specialises, the effect of the currency changes will make only a marginal difference to the cost of your holiday.
In the villages, we still buy our capuccino for less than a euro - much cheaper than the inferior stuff you can buy in any place in Britain, America or other English speaking nations. The last meal we bought in a village restaurant cost €54 for two people - three courses each, half a litre of wine and a bottle of water; and that is by no means the cheapest meal we have eaten recently. A meal at a pizzeria : big plates of antipasti, three pizza and one pasta dish, two coffees, two bottles of wine and a bottle of water was €60 for four people. Even a gourmet dinner is less than €40 a person.
Of course, in Florence or Rome, a capuccino might be €3 and restaurants more expensive but if you look around one can find good value even the tourist hot spots.
Petrol is about the same price as in the UK and diesel is a bit cheaper. Rail travel in Italy - recommended for days out in Florence and Rome - is amazingly good value. Other activities too are not expensive in our main area. This is because tourism does not dominate the market - the shops, cafes and restaurants still see the local population as their main clientele - quite different from just 40 miles away in Chianti. |
