> We earn in guilders (FL) as you earn in $ but to get $ 1 we have to pay fl 2,25 so if you understand what we are
> saying america is a very expensive country to visit for us because we have to multiply all the usa prices by 2,25.

I've never traveled in Europe, but in London a few years ago I needed 1.8 dollars to get a pound. It makes me wonder if I go to the Netherlands, will my dollar be worth 2.25 times as much as it is here?
In Mexico, U.S. citizens were charged in U.S. dollars. Even if you had pesos, they charged you enough to make up the difference in exchange rate.
In Canada, I paid by credit card and got the exchange rate which saved me money, but if I paid in U.S. dollars they just said "Thank you."
In Guatamala, a dollar was equal to 5 quetzalies(sp?) and I was living like a king for almost nothing. You could buy $100 worth of goods and services for twenty dollars.

When I was in the Bahamas, the exchange rate was one to one and it made life much simpler.

How do you travel without spending so much time on a calculator? How do you avoid all those "exchange rate scams?"

Sorry I couldn't help Harm and Leonie. I'm a long way from California!
Howard