Credit cards

Credit cards charge a "foreign transaction fee" if the price of something you buy is expressed in a foreign currency, which it's pretty likely to be the case if you are heading to, oh, I don't know, say FRANCE AND ITALY for a month. Our Citibank mastercard adds an extra 3 percent to the price of the item, and I think that's pretty typical. Thank goodness for the internet. A little Googling takes us to my new best friend, Rick Steves, who tells us:

Some companies offer far lower international fees than others — and a handful don't charge any fees at all. Capital One has a particularly good reputation for no-fee international transactions. If you're going on a long trip, do some research and consider taking out a card just for international purchases.

And a little more Googling reveals that Capital One also charges no annual fee. So what's not to like? Our new card arrived yesterday. Today I tried it at the supermarket around the corner. It worked! In a month or so I'll find out whether it also works in Paris and Venice and Florence and Perugia and Rome. I'll let you know.