There are no chairs. I remember a meal of soup, pasta, artichokes, steak and wine for $3.90. It would be hard to beat. During my days in Rome I spent an average of about three dollars a day, including entertainment. Nestor even knew the cheaper trattorias and osterias where wine comes to only a few dollars a glass and a bottle of beer about $1.00. He proved his point, you can live in any city cheaply if you know the ropes. His own budget, including tuition fees at the school he was attending, was $300 a month. Largely, however, Rome is an expensive town, only about 10% cheaper than New York, it is estimated. You'll be lucky to find a small unfurnished apartment for less than five hundred dollars or a furnished one for $800. And for such prices you will not be getting a luxurious flat. Eating in Italy is some of the best in the world. It might be true that France has the best restaurants anywhere but you only find the really top French food in luxury establishments far out of the price range of most of us. In Italy, you can find excellent meals in even the medium priced places. I'm of the opinion that per dollar spent you eat better in Italy than you do in France. For the person with retirement in mind, the Italian Riviera (up near the French border), Sicily, and Sardinia are considerably more in line with the unstuffed pocketbook. On the Riviera you can stay in a pension for as little as $25 to $35 a day. In fact, sometimes you can beat this a little. On the picturesque island of Sardinia you'll find full pension at as little as $22.50 a day and even lower. That includes room, all meals, services and taxes. A villa on the Italian Riviera or in Sicily will run you a minimum of about $80 for a place in which Americans would wish to live. You can pay considerably more, without half trying, but if you shop around, $70 or $80 should do it. Servants will run about $90 a month, give or take a little according to where you're living. Food is the tough item on the budget. Mutton is your cheapest meat at about $1.20 a pound, beef is about $2.00, butter $2.00, eggs about $1.50 a dozen on an average, cheese is cheap at $1.00 a pound or so, spaghetti a little less than this. Wine is about $3.00 a liter for the ordinary varieties, coffee sky high at about $4.50 a pound. Fish is usually a good buy at about 2.50 a
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