One Pound Equals Two Dollars

It's finally happen (again). The British pound passed the $2 mark last week, the first time since 1992 and has been fluctuating around there since. Maybe that's why there's a hint of a smile on the Queen's face on British currency. What does this mean to the U.S. traveler? This means a hamburger costs $8; to have a beer with that, you'll have to cough up another $5. A one-way ticket on the London subway (okay, tube) is $8; the meter in a taxi starts running at $4.40; and then the ride from Heathrow Airport to central London is at least $110.

At this exchange rate, just the enjoyment of having a Starbucks coffee and pastry can set you back $15. Still, this probably won't stop another 3.7 million U.S. visitors to the United Kindom from spending another 2.7 billion pounds. Count the Hopeful Traveler among them. Oh yeah, 2.7 billion pounds is more than $5 billion.

Just to put Americans in their place, the joke about the lack of value of Canadian money is on us now. The Canadian dollar is almost worth as much as a U.S. dollar.