Ira-

That really does sound like a happy medium, I'll run it by the wife. Thanks Sharon for the additional links!

tlombardo, you're quite welcome for the links. The Italy FAQs will be very helpful and keep you busy reading for quite some time. I see that Elaine and others keep adding all sorts of goodies and links -- including trip reports and other good Italy threads to it.
-Have fun reading and dreaming! To me one of the best parts of a trip is reading and planning before the trip. Enjoy!

- Sharon