Trip Trivia

Things I've learned on this trip:

1) None of the hotels provide washcloths!

2) Hotel rooms do not have temperature control. This time of year the heat is on so rooms are quite warm. Aircon, as it's called, isn't turned on until May.

3) in Italy, there is far too much food served -minimum 3 courses, usually 4! For dessert, usually "gelato" It's not as firm as ice cream & its pnot frozen.It's just good & comes in many flavors.

4) Hotel laundry service is VERY expensive. They charge by the piece &, for example, it costs 4€ to launder a bra - thats over $5!

Public laundry in Monaco was costly, too. $US13 for washer & approx $US4 for 15 min drying.

5) No such thing as free wifi in hotels in UK, Italy or Germany. Average cost is 3€ per hour. Wifi free in France & Spain.

6) Gasoline averages US$8 gallon but cars are small & get better mileage. I've seen very few American vehicles on this trip. Lots of BMW, Audi, VW, Alfa Romao, Peugeot, Mercedes & even Bentley. Then there's those cute little cars in England that are the taxis.

7) Many ride Vespas or other bikes. Most cars aren't larger than the Smart Car. Lots of public buses. If you saw the traffic & the way they park you'd know why the cars are so small!

8) The US$ isn't worth much compared to Euro, everything is quite expensive. Currently, 1€ = $1.34 while 1£ (British Pound) = $1.53. So for every Euro I spend, it actually costs me $1.32.

9) The water is not served with ice. I have to go to bar & practically beg to get ice.

10) in France, they don't believe in toilet seats. The bowl is there but no seat. This may be TMI, but I line the bowl with tissue before I'll use it!!

11) April may not be the best month to come to Europe. Days are still quite cool. I thought April in Paris was supposed to be great. It was in 60's when we were in Lucerne Switzerland . Today they have 2' snow!