THE BEST THING ABOUT A HOLIDAY IS... Foreign currency

WHAT a sad day it was in 2002 when Brussels ushered in the euro for general use, heralding the end of interesting European currencies such as the Greek drachma (with its antiquated grandeur) and Dutch guilder ( who could forget those rainbow-coloured notes with eye- catching designs of sunflowers and lighthouses?).

From as long as I can remember, I’ve kept these mini works of art from every foreign country I’ve visited.

Forget collecting stamps. From age five, I hoarded lucre. My first was a crisp 100 peseta that my mum put in the wash by accident and was forced to dry and iron (taking money laundering to the most literal level).

In Vietnam, when I presented each of my three young sons with 1,000 dong, their faces were a picture. They couldn’t believe their luck until the penny dropped that they were in possession of a measly 32p.

I’m not denying that foreign currency can have its challenges and, fresh off the plane, I’ve often made friends for life by tipping extravagantly in error.

Not to mention the look on a porter’s face in Costa Rica when my husband, thinking he was being generous, gave him 100 colon (16p). In Uganda, the star of the shilling note is a handsome mountain gorilla; and in the Seychelles, it’s the island’s biodiversity that is celebrated on the rupee. The tiger chameleon and scops owl are just two of the creatures you’ll find in this charming monetary menagerie.

This summer, I’m looking forward to adding the Brazilian two-reais note to my collection, with a hawksbill turtle emblazoned across it.

The euro? Profoundly dull.