By Carol Pucci

Letizia Mattiacci won't be raising her rates this year at her six-room farmhouse inn in the hills above Assisi in Northern Italy.

The travelers she counts on most — Americans — are already paying $95 to $120 a night for her rooms, 30 percent more than two years ago, not due to any price increases, but because of the weak value of the U.S. dollar.

Pounded to daily record lows against the euro last year, the dollar has continued its slide against most other major foreign currencies, including the British pound and Australian and Canadian dollar, pushing prices up on everything from a cappuccino in Rome to a dinner in Vancouver and theater tickets in London.

"It's the new reality for Americans," says Seattle travel guidebook author and public television host Rick Steves, whose first trip to Europe with a buddy in 1973 cost $10.82 per day.

Americans face "new reality" as greenback skids, continued