By now, five summers after the dollar began its long swoon against the euro and the pound, American travelers are used to $5 cups of coffee and triple-digit dinner checks in Europe’s great capitals. But the dollar’s latest plunge — to record lows of 72 cents to the euro and 49 pence to the pound — has turned mere sticker shock into a form of disbelief for many tourists.
For Kaelon Kroft, a custodian from San Bernardino, Calif., it was the cost of Coke that shocked him most in Paris. “We just paid 9.50 euros for a can of Coke at a cafe,” he said. “At our hotel, the bar was serving a glass of Coke for four euros.”
“That’s over five bucks,” his wife Kristi added. Actually, at the current exchange rate, it is a fizzy bubble or two over $5.50.
