Day 135/365 - Euro, My-o

After work tonight I stopped by the Travelex currency conversion stand at Union Station to buy myself some euros. I could likely have gotten a better deal on them had I waited until I got to Italy and then just withdrawn money from an ATM. As obsessively overorganized as I am, however, I wanted to make sure I had euros in hand before I landed in Italy.

I only picked up the bills today. The coins I had left over from my last trip to Europe -- Luxembourg and Amsterdam in 2004. I hadn't realized until now that it had been five years since my last trip abroad (apart from a Caribbean cruise with my brother and his family a couple years back). Since that time, most of my trips have been three-day domestic getaways.

It was not long after that last European excursion that I moved into my current apartment. The rent here is twice what it was at my old place, so that cut substantially into my travelling budget. It's worth it to live in a better apartment in a safer, more convenient neighborhood, though.

I feel a bit guilty that my chief reaction to the global recession thus far has been excitement over the fact that I'll now be able to travel more, rather than commiseration with others. Hopefully a karmic boomerang won't double back and whack me upside the head.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)