America: the land of the free, or cheap?

In the UK one of the standard topics of conversation among travellers is how much money they saved holidaying in the USA. Well, judging by our recent trip, these days are over.

I well remember my first trips in recent years to America and marvelling at how you far the money would go. Accommodation, dining and even the stuff in the shops was so cheap compared with Europe. America was the land of bargain touring.

Having just spent three weeks touring in California it seems like these days are well and truly gone.

Certainly, there are still bargains to be had. $1.99 for a burger meal in a fast-food joint may qualify in some peoples’ books as a reason to fly the Atlantic, but quick burgers apart we found the story to be very different compared to our previous visit some three years ago.

Take accommodation, for example. We chose mid-range hotels/motels everywhere we went. Nothing fancy. Our average bill for our room worked out at around $100 per night, that’s just a little on the right side of £70.


Welcome to the USA, just don’t expect it to be cheap any more

The story is equally telling on the dining and food front. We were fairly middle of the road in the choice of diners and restaurants.

Inevitably we found ourselves at the mercy of franchised diners a lot of the time, but on other occasios we would search out a local pizza or grill and on a couple of occasions a restaurant that offered an experience a little above the ordinary.

Over the entire holiday our dining bill for two averaged out at a more than £35 per day. That despite the fact that eating out more than twice a day is impossible in the USA (due to the mountain of food you get offered) once a day is more common. Before you ask that did not include anything more than a beer or, on only a few occasions, an averagely-priced bottle of wine.

You needn’t pay much more than than for your daily dining in the UK or Europe, so the differential between the opposite sides of the Atlantic seems to have gone.

Finally, with such a plethora of malls and handy out of town retail parks, it is hard not to be sucked into the American past-time of shopping.

Experience here, again, suggests that prices are much more equitable between the UK and USA and that is even when taking into account that VAT is that much more than US sales tax.

The bottom line? The various regions of the USA are still among our favourite destinations. Just don’t expect accommodation, food and shopping to be the bargain they once were.

Pump iron before visiting LAX

Visitors to Los Angeles Airport (LAX) would do well to make sure they are in peak fitness before they get there.

Arriving there on a flight from San Francisco, we retrieved our bags from the carousel reasonably rapidly and set off to get a luggage cart. No problem, we thought, there was one just a couple of hundred feet away.


Coming in to land at LAX. Prepare to heft your baggage!

But LAX charges $4 for the hire of the cart.

Not too outlandish or unreasonable.

Except paying them for the cart seems to be impossible unless you have have either four single dollar notes or a $5 note. We didn’t.

No problem, we thought. It takes credit and debit cards.

Well not ours, it didn’t. After trying a total of seven assorted Mastercards, Visas and debit cards. That machine and two others returned a surly “incorrect card” message.

After lugging five large bags from one terminal to another we were of a mind to blacklist LAX on all future visits!

Dining differences in the USA

I am currently in the USA and having to remember my US etiquette. There are a number of things that are different on this side of the atlantic that can surprise a British diner.

You have to remember to hang on to your knife and fork in all but the poshest restaurants. You get one knife and fork and it has to last you for your starter and main course. If you ask for side salad, don’t be surprised when it comes before the main course. It will often be assumed that you want it as a starter.

Also, don’t be affronted when your fellow diners have their plates whisked away when they are finished, even if you are still eating. Removing a plate before everyone is finished may be a ‘no, no’ in the UK but not in the USA.

When the bill comes, things are a bit different again. Whereas here a tip is usually 10% of the bill if you are particularly pleased with the service, in the USA the norm is 15% and it is customary.

So, when the bill arrives you either add the tip to your credit card (or leave it on the table in cash as at home). You then sign the bill and usually you are expected to go once you have left the signed credit card statement on the table.

America does not use PIN numbers for credit cards, but you may be asked for photo ID. Extraordinarily, hardly anyone ever checks your signature.



Finally, on this trip it seems that the portions in the USA have become a little less gargantuan than in the past.

However, it is still quite acceptable (and wise practice if you don’t want to be totally stuffed) to agree a dish with your fellow diner and ask your server to “have that to share”. We have always found that to be accepted as normal and an extra plate and cutlery is brought as a matter of course. Sometimes the dish will be expertly divided between two plates!

Also, if you are watching what you eat, check the dietary information provided by the chains. My choice of main course in one restaurant was very quickly changed when I read that it contained 126 grammes of fat!

Finally, America is ruled by franchises. That means that, wherever you go, there is a recognisable name that you may want to choose. However, it does also lead to franchise standards and a lack of individuality.

I recall, once, sitting in an Outback in Illinois having flashbacks to the previous Outback in Florida. In every way they were identical. In fact, didn’t I recognise the waitress?

Transcontinental marathon

I was reminded recently of an interesting dilemma from a few years back. I was sitting with a colleague in Pisa airport after a press launch waiting for our flight to the UK to be called. It was mid afternoon and I was really tired. The thought of returning home to a good night’s sleep was extremely appealing.

Unexpectedly I am presented with the dilemma. We could board the plane and head home the fast way. Or, we could take the keys of a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and find our way back to the UK.

It is one of those opportunities where your head says to be sensible and take the easy option. But your heart realises that there is life out there to be experienced and only one opportunity to seize. I had never driven from Italy back to Britain, so today was going to be the day!

It was as we navigated our way out of Pisa onto the autostrade that I began to realise the enormity of the journey we were about to undertake. Ahead of us was a journey of 2,755 kilometres (1,711 miles) and our plan was to be home by Sunday morning. This was Friday evening!



Pouring over the maps there was some feverish navigation to be done. The shortest route looked to be to keep left of Switzerland and travel north through France. But the other option, through the Brenner Pass to Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and France to the Channel Tunnel might be quicker.

We chose the Brenner Pass and headed north through the supercar territory of Modena on the autoroute.

As the borders of Austria loomed, I started to get concerned about the possibility of a toll. All we had to offer were, Italian autostrade cards, credit cards, or assorted Scottish bank notes. With trepidation we pulled up at the toll barrier.

I tried the autostrade cards first. The shake of the head said it all. Mastercard? Visa? Neither were acceptable. With more desperation than hope, I fished out a Royal Bank of Scotland £20 note. Another shake of the head. We responded to this with another internationally understood gesture, a shrug of the shoulder.

There followed something of a stand-off. The toll keeper waiting for us to tender some real money. Us waiting for him to tell us what was the motorway equivalent of doing the dishes when you can’t pay the bill in a restaurant?

Suddenly, I realised the tollkeeper was shouting “Schottishe” and beckoning the note again. He grabbed it, clicked away at some keys and handed us back our change and a receipt for “Sch pounds”. Phew!

After an evening meal and clambering over the Austrian mountains we joined the German autobahns and made good progress to near Stuttgart close to midnight where we found rooms for the night.

The next day we picked up the autobahns westwards marvelling at how, with our cruise control set to 120 mph on the de-restricted sections, there were still Porsches and BMWs whinging past as though we were almost stationery.

Our only mishap on this epic drive was a tyre blowout on a Belgian autoroute as we headed towards the Channel Tunnel.

We were home and, as evening fell on the second day, we headed round London to the Dartford Tunnel. As we stopped to pay our toll, we mused on what would happen if we had turned up there with some less common foreign currency. I bet they would not have been as accommodation as the tollkeeper on the Brenner Pass!

Pompeii where time has stood still

It is hard to get your brain round the fact that the wall decoration that you are looking is almost 2,000 years old. In one of the rooms it is almost Art Deco in style.

This is the town that was preserved under ash and pumice for almost 1,700-years after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The eruption is said to have lasted two days, burying Pompeii under 60 feet. It was discovered by accident in 1748.


The columns show how there was, originally, a second level.

The ash and pumice, because of their lack of air and moisture, have preserved Pompeii in quite remarkable condition over almost two millennia.

Entering you gather in the forum area which is impressive enough until the guide explains to you that it was originally on two levels. Those pillars held up the next level.


Detail from the ceiling in the bath house





“Guide?,” you may query, if you are the independent type who likes to do your own thing.

Yes, Pompeii is one of those places that a guide can really make your experience of the place more fulfilling. A good guide will point out the details that you might miss on your own. A good guide will also be able to take you round avoiding the crush.


Hard to believe that this hunting scene was painted 1,700 years ago

Pompeii, after all, attracts 2.5 million visitors a year.

The streets are laid out much like a modern town and it has remarkably similar facilities, including the baths, shops, the theatre and, yes, the brothel.

The theatre is impressive. Built in the 2nd century it was extended in the reign of Augustus by a wealthy vine-growing family. It could accommodate 5,000 people. The theatre’s sponsors even had their name inscribed in brass on their seats.


There’s almost a touch of Art Deco about the wall decoration