No, the C64 isn't rare - it's in the Gunniess book of world record for a reason. They are fairly reasonable priced over here (Norway), ranging from £20 and up, depending on condition/extras.
As for emulators, I recall finding the A64 emulator pretty good. If you have a PC/Mac, try
VICE.
And as for BASIC, well, you can give
Simons' Basic a go.
