A story in Saturday's New York Times by Kate Hammer and Julia Werdigier about how Europeans are finding great bargains in New York City because of the low value of the dollar actually made me stop in my tracks  (Since I was sitting at the time, it actually made me sit up in my seat).

The steadily falling dollar and weekend trips of Londoners who leave the U.S. with suitcases full of stuff is hardly news. In fact, in keeping with what is typically in the Saturday business section, the story in the Times was a feature rather than a news item because there was little that was new.

But what gave me a start was realizing that it wasn't that long ago when the situation was exactly the reverse, that is, when the dollar was so strong that Americans were flocking to London for the weekend because it was cheaper to do that than go shopping in the U.S.

I was one of those people. In March 1985, my Beautiful and Talented Wife (The BTW) and I decided not to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon and instead went to Europe precisely because the dollar was so strong. At the time, you could by a pound for about $1, so everything effectively was half price compared to what it had been. We stayed in hotels way beyond what would typically be affordable by a newly married couple, bought lots of stuff (the BTW really liked Harvey Nicks), and heard lots of complaints from the locals about the value of their currency.

I remember a specific conversation with the soon-to-be BTW about Europe being the right choice because the dollar was not likely to be that strong again anytime soon. After reading the story in the NY Times, I felt the need to remind the BTW how well I called the situation.