Obviously you are using this wonderful forum for a percentage of your research, which is what? Do you use many other sources e.g. books, other sites, travel agencies etc.? We started planning this trip ourselves in Dec. '98 and its now upon us. Our dining room table, still has Christmas tablecloth on it. Having SO many books, brochures, papers and the like made it an effort to change tablecloth! We found fourm in May and have obtained a wealth of info. and also read many books. It is certainly more fun to use the computer to garner first hand advise from other travelers. For us, this forum has been ~70% of all our research and a fun part of it! For us it was better than a travel agency. Thank you Fodors- your books and this site are superb!

Having done term papers and theses back in the dark ages when one only had books to use, I still do 70-80% of my trip planning from books. Two to three Saturdays at the library, then months at the kitchen table (one teeny corner of the table is reserved for eating, bill paying, gift wrapping, etc.). I then use the web for up-to-date info on ticket prices, opening dates for sites, etc. Fodor's Forum has helped me immensely on particular things (like the Labyrinthe - thanks again, MarthaB - and personal experiences like how boring the boat ride to Hampton Court is - thanks again to Beth) that either are too obscure for guidebooks, or where personal experiences give a different view than the guidebooks. <BR>I always have real maps for plotting, and lots and lots of info from tourist offices (not just the French Government Tourist Office, for example, but from the tourist offices of individual towns. I couldn't believe the packet of stuff I received when I wrote to the village of Martel for a MAP!)

I'll say 75% Fodors's guide books (I may buy one other), and 25& this forum (specially personal experiences w/hotels).

I usually start with talking to people to get ideas. Then I go to more than one bookstore and browse for good travel books to purchase. Then I get on the www and see what I can find. <BR>Then, after roughing out my plans, I use this fantastic forum to get specific answers to my questions. Usually someone who has been there responds. <BR>With the various facts and opinions, I fine tune the trip. <BR> <BR>For example, last year I decided I wanted to go back to Switzerland. <BR>I bought some books, browsed the web, found the address of travel/tourist offices in various towns. When my travel agent came through with a great airline fare, I decided on the exact dates. From there I was able to fine tune the daily agenda and make apartment reservations. One apartment was found on the web; the other through a tourist brochure sent by the Saas Valley tourist office. <BR> <BR>In short, I use all the resources I can find, with this forum being very valuable in providing information for the detailed decisions. <BR> <BR>This year we decided on Paris. I posted a question and got answers. And there was a thread on the top 10 Paris attractions to see or visit. I made a copy of the various lists, read about the attractions in my guide books, and finalized my list. <BR>So it is a collaborative effort, with information coming from many sources. <BR>

Debbie, <BR>Are you still here? Haven't you gone yet? <BR>Reading is the driving force that stimulates my traveling. While I particularly enjoy non-fiction books dealing with history, art or social customs, I do read travel books extensively as well; travel books, not guides. I'm thinking of writers like Jan Morris, William Least Heat Moon, Paul Theroux and Blake Ehrlich as examples. I find regional fiction writers like Ivan Doig (Montana), Ferroll Samms (central Georgia), George V. Higgins (Boston), Carl Haiaasen (southern Florida), enlightening as well as the classic writers Hugo, Dickens, V. S. Pritchett, and many, many others. Their stimuli have resulted in my developing a large library of travel oriented guides. Michelin, Baedeker, the Blue Guides, the Insight and Eyewitness Guides, Berlitz and Phaedon guides comprise a good part of my library. They're supplemented by a good assortment of Hallwag and Michelin maps as well as those maps picked up in my travels from Fina, Elf , Shell and Esso service stations. My travel diaries, journals, itineraries and perceptions and memories are all stored on floppy disks. The literature from tourist offices is invaluable; not only the national and regional tourist offices, but those of small villages and towns. (In a response from one tiny Bavarian village, for example, I received a hand-written price list of rates from what has proven to be one of my most favorite inns in Europe). These smaller tourist offices are a superb resource for the traveler. <BR> <BR>Of that portion of my time devoted to travel, other than the traveling itself, probably 60% is devoted to responding to posters either directly to Fodor's or to personal Email directed to me as a result of a Fodor posting. It seems that I receive three to five Emails daily questioning some aspect of travel with which I may be familiar. 20% is devoted to scouring the internet for travel oriented websites of interest, either for myself or my correspondents. I look for bookmarkable such as: national and regional tourist offices (particularly the latter), accommodations, theatre, opera, concerts, festivals and the like. The remaining 20% is devoted to scanning Fodor's seeking ideas or looking for confirmation of my thoughts about places to stay, sights to see, things to do. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>