[Leica] film and traveling

["RP Johnson" <rpjohnson2@home.com>]

Anthony raises an interesting point:  why do US travelers to Europe adopt
the techniques of professional photographers traveling to the Artic with
respect to film?
I confess that I am as guilty of this as many others, in that I lug (nice
touch, eh?) large quantities of film to Europe when I travel there.  Perhaps
I never really questioned this since the common wisdom is that US travelers
should take unexposed film to Europe and exposed, but undeveloped film, back
to the US.

But why?

It is true that film is more expensive in Europe than in the US (but most
things are), but we don't take our own food. Although I have to disappoint
Anthony on one matter: I do pack two pounds of coffee with me when I go.
Coffee in France is good, but expensive for us 10 cup a day types.  (I won't
go into the quality of coffee in England)

Can other seasoned travelers tell me why (aside from the slight increase in
expense) I should not buy film in Europe and have it developed there?  I can
get negatives only processing and I suspect that slides may be better done
in Europe since they shoot more of them than we do in the US.

I should point out that I usually am in Europe for three weeks at a time and
stay in one or two countries for the entire trip.  I rent an apartment or
cottage and travel around by train or bus.  So I do have time to have film
developed.  And yes, there will be the "first and last day" problem (I will
carry film for the first day shooting and will carry the last days film back
to the US for processing), but that is not such a big deal.

So, are there any compelling reasons to carry large quantities of film to
Europe and back under the circumstances I've described?

rp johnson