> e I recommend a gorgeous book called The Most Beautiful
> Villages in Tuscany, by James Bentley and Hugh Palmer, Thames and Hudson

I second the motion. Not only is is useful for planning, but it is the most stunning coffee table book I have seen. We used it to identify the absolutely must see towns, and highlighted their locations on a map. We then used the Cadogan Guide to Tuscany (also available as a Cadogan Guide to Tuscany, Umbria and The Marchesedition), to highlight other places and things we wanted to see. When finished, you have a map with clusters of highlighted towns/villages. While we had copies of Lonely Planet, Frommers, Eyewitness Guide and numerous other travel books, the Cadogan is the best in every respect. Gavin (Sydney, Australia)