I’m heading off to Rome tomorrow: part business, part vacation. My mother, who is Italian but has never been to Italy, is coming with me. I am really looking forward to visiting the Old Country and soaking up some of that Eternal City atmosphere.

Weather-wise, it’s the perfect time to visit Rome. Skies will be sunny but there will still be a little fall nip in the air — at least, it will be cooler than here in tropical Boston. But money-wise, it’s the worst time to visit Europe in recent memory. The euro is worth nearly a buck and a half!

I happened to be in Paris on the day that the euro was first introduced as physical currency, way back in ‘ought-two. One day I was calculating HOW MANY francs to the dollar, and the next I was enjoying the ease of a nearly one-to-one ratio of currencies. The euro was worth about 90 cents then, so there was the satisfaction of knowing that everything cost a little less than my rough estimate.

But now the euro is a big, strong currency and he’s thumbing its nose at the little people he climbed over on his meteoric rise to the top. Sure, you’re the big cheese now, €, but currency markets are volatile, and I’ll never forget that I Knew You When.