Hemingway's former home in Ketchum, Idaho was recently opened as part of the second annual Ernest Hemingway Festival. The evening event did not offer the traditional "do not touch anything" tour. Instead, forty people had the rare opportunity to enjoy a catered dinner with proceeds going toward the upkeep of the home. While I can see the appeal of such an event for the true Hemingway aficionado, I do not think I could have mustered the "grace under pressure" required to pay the admission fee.

A paperback edition of For Whom the Bell Tolls from amazon.com, ten dollars.

A Hemingway t-shirt from buysomethingawesome.com, twelve dollars.

A photo print of Hemingway from barewalls.com, twenty-five dollars.

Dinner at the Hemingway home in Ketchum, Idaho, one thousand dollars.

That's right, $1000 per person was the cost to dine at the Hemingway home in Ketchum, Idaho. A meal for two at the French Laundry, one of the greatest restaurants in the world, would cost $420 (as of 2006) before wine and tax. Why does a dinner at Hemingway's home cost so much more? Well, because it is Hemingway's home. Hemingway's fame is global and the tales told about how he lived and died are legendary. The expensive price tag for dinner is easier to swallow if you take into account that you are eating at the home of a legend. Correct? How much would you be willing to pay to dine at the Hemingway home in Ketchum, Idaho?