Rachel Wimberly

Italian Economy Thrives

If there’s a global recession going on that’s supposedly touching every square corner of the earth, at surface level, it seems to have skipped Italy.

I’ve been in Milan a few days now, and, besides the throngs of tourists at the airport, central train station and attractions, the dollar pales in comparison to the still mighty euro.

On my first day in the city, I decided to sit down and have a cold drink at a sidewalk café. I ordered a Coke, made sure I asked for ice with it (they don’t like ice in Europe it seems) and about fell out of my chair when the waitress told me it was €4.50.

Yes, folks – if you happen to know the conversion off the top of your head – that equals a whopping $6.66, and that’s if you get an exchange rate of €1.48 to $1. The rates vary wildly from place to place. Ouch.

The rate is actually much better than it was last year, believe it or not, but the trick in Italy is everything is really, really expensive.

Meals, in particular, cost an arm and a leg, with an average (and I mean very average) meal costing $50 per person, and that’s at a “cheap” restaurant. A cup of American- style coffee can run someone between $7 and $8, and, in a city that’s famous for its fashion, I saw a pair of plain, rubber beach sandals that were $100.

Not only that, it costs to go in almost every museum and church in the city, and all of them were teeming with scores of tourists. And, yes, even with the economy in a major downturn in the United States, I have seen plenty of Americans just about every where I have gone in Milan so far.

Tomorrow, I will be on the TuttoFood showfloor at Fiera Milano, and it should be interesting to see if the healthy Italian economy on the streets of Milan translates to buyers placing a lot of orders at the show.

Posted by Rachel Wimberly on June 10, 2009 | Comments (0)