Published: Tue, Jul. 01, 2008 12:30AM

Modified Tue, Jul. 01, 2008 03:47AM

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"Russia is one of the most expensive countries on Earth, at least in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Everything was just absolutely shockingly expensive, so you were really hard-pressed to have lunch for less than $60 or $70 a person."

According to Lonely Planet's online guide to Russia, staying in comfortable hotels and eating in restaurants two or three times a day should run a traveler about $100 a day. "If you prefer to spend your day eating in Moscow's finest restaurants and sleeping between their crispest sheets, plan on around US $500 a day."

While the state's travel policy allows for greater expenses when traveling to costly locations, it says employees are "expected to exercise the same care in incurring expenses that a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business and expending personal funds."

It adds: "Excess costs, circuitous routes, delays or luxury accommodations and services unnecessary, unjustified or for the convenience or personal preference of the employee in the performance of official state business are prohibited."

The policy also states that appointed and elected officials fall under the same rules.

But when Easley traveled to France in 2007, she first flew on a state-owned plane to New York at a cost to taxpayers of $4,565. The flight to Paris was canceled that night, and Easley, her assistant and the state trooper along for security stayed at the Jumeirah Essex House, a luxury hotel that overlooks Central Park. The bill for the night was $1,157.22.

High-level invitation

Wheeler said the trip to Tallinn originated with an invitation from Kay Phillips, the wife of Dave Phillips, a former North Carolina commerce secretary who is U.S. ambassador to Estonia, a former Soviet republic south of Finland.

Wheeler said the group decided to add St. Petersburg so they could tour The Hermitage, a world-famous museum. Having Mary Easley on the trip probably opened doors for the North Carolina delegation, he said.

"My God, if we could get some great things from The Hermitage to be on view at the N.C. Museum of Art, how fabulous would that be for the people of the state?" Wheeler said.

On May 12, the delegation dined by itself at the Palkin restaurant. The receipt shows the state officials ordered entrees such as leg of pheasant with homemade sausages, and rabbit with black truffles and foie gras.

Evans didn't bill the state for the $647 spent on two bottles of wine and a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Brut Champagne. Taxpayers paid $624.54 for the food.

The trooper, C.H. Alford, mostly stuck to the state's limits on spending. He typically billed the $7.50 for breakfast, $9.75 for lunch and $19 for dinner allowed under the state's policy.

Alford joined the delegation at Palkin.

"He didn't eat much," Wheeler said.

The same night the delegation dined at Palkin, Wheeler billed the state for $175 in food and drinks at the hotel. He said he wasn't sure what that was for.

"It could have been for hors d'oeuvres and drinks. I don't know," he said.

Cheaper in Tallinn

In Estonia, the delegation stayed with the ambassador, and the expenses dropped considerably. The biggest bill from the country was from the trooper, who stayed in a hotel instead of the embassy.

The delegation attended a reception at the ambassador's home. Wheeler was impressed with the work of Estonian artists and decided to try to organize an exhibit for them in North Carolina.

Easley met with reporters and picked up some news coverage.

"She got lots of good exposure for North Carolina in Estonia, without question," Wheeler said.

Wheeler said it's hard to measure the cost of a trip against the quality-of-life improvements it could produce for North Carolina residents.

"I don't know how we could have done it much differently," he said.

"To get the first lady and the group -- it wasn't a huge group ... to have them there for a week and to accomplish what we did and to meet the people that we did and to see the things we did. It's certainly worth it."

(News researcher Lamara Williams contributed to this report.)