When I was in Italy in 1999, I was delighted to see how far my money went. I could find a lunch for USD2-3.00, and a nice dinner for around 7-10. You could buy almost anything for around US$10.00. They should have never converted, they were better off as is. Stupid Euro-land fantasy.
Cheers,
CSG
Right, I feel the same way. I was actually thinking of going back until I heard my boss discuss it. I did some other investigating and found out it's true. All prices went up, way up.
The bargain right now is Thailand. It's a beautiful country even though Bangkok perpetually stinks(literally). Once you get out of town, it's fascinating and the people like Americans. At 40Baht to a dollar, you can get top notch hotel rooms for 40-50 dollars a night.