Guess what lead the news section (page 2) of this past Sunday's travel section of The New York Times? It's an article called "Traveling In Style Through Rural Italy" which tells about a five-night drive through Tuscany, not including airfare, for $9,000 per person, based on two persons traveling together. So you and your sweetie can spend only $18,000 for the two of you (five nights, four days) in a vintage Italian car of the 1950, 1960s or 1970s, including luxury accommodations, "most meals" (not all of them), and various other extras like a mechanic who accompanies you and emergency support vehicles.

$18,000 for just the two of you ... five nights ... not including airfare to Italy.

And if you think I'm making this up, see www.italybyvintagecar.com, the source of this really unique deal which actually cites a higher price (the Times must have overlooked it) of $10,950 per person (and therefore $21,900 per couple) for the five-night drive through Tuscany; it also does not yet announce its dates and prices for 2009, causing some worry as to whether anyone actually booked the tour in 2008 and whether it, in fact, will be operated for 2009 (despite the Times' breathless notice of an experience that the newspaper claims will "evoke the casual glamour of a Fellini movie").

The business pages of numerous newspapers and magazines are currently reporting on the decline in circulation and advertising that many major newspapers are experiencing. When a major newspaper devotes space to an absurdity like this, you can understand why the public is turning elsewhere for their travel information.