1 I dunno, get it in AmEx Travelers checks and then cash them at a AmEx travel center where they do it for a lower fee. I did have a friend in England transfer funds (only 100 quid) to my Citi account for some various items I bought her for her and shipped over.

2 Do you really have to close the account? Money burning a hole in your pocket? Why not leave it there? Arrange for a debit card/credit card from that Irish bank and use the funds to pay for European purchases. A trip to London, Dublin, or even....Paris...It's like making a couple hundred dollars in bonus interest. Might want to look into converting some of it into Brit pounds in case the Euro freefalls though. It can happen. Especially wise if there are small fee involved. I might come into some dosh myself...if someone ever decides to name a winner for her "Name My Business" contest! Hope springs eternal!

3 We don't have an account. We have a check, made out by the executor of my uncle-by-marriage's estate. And right now we've both been underemployed for so long that the idea of European travel seems a little abstract . . . though I hope it won't always be so.

4 Just buy something you need in Europe then. Avoid currency conversion fees all together. You should be able to get a European bank account here(at a branch of a foreign bank), if you have the check in hand. Buy an item with the price quoted in Euros, and pay for it in Euros. Never make the conversion to US Dollars. There must be something you need, want, or desire. Nice dodge of the contest mention, by the way!

5 Agile like a car she is. Dodging the question. Diving under the table, keeping low... Footwork as precise as Ginger Rogers. All to avoid picking the winner of her "Name My Business" contest.