Thank you to everyone that replied. Armed with everyone's suggestions, I spent a few hours at my local bike stores trying the recommended shorts on. On many of the shorts the chamois felt nice and soft, but often the shorts didn't fit properly. As someone mentioned on this board, a lot depends on your shape & size. I'm almost 6 feet tall with a small waist but larger rear and muscular legs. I found that many of the women's shorts weren't really cut for a taller woman. The Pearl Izumi Microsensors in XL seemed to fit best, which, unfortunately, were the most expensive of all the ones I tried on.

After my first 5 hour ride up some monster Italian passes I knew the Pearls were the right choice even if they were expensive. The shorts, combined with rubbing the Butt'r on before each ride, did the trick. I spent more time on my bike during my few weeks in Italy than I have in the last 6 months and had no problems other than slightly sore muscles because I wasn't in good enough shape! The chamois & stitching stayed soft, even in the heat and humidity. Thanks again for all your help. By the way, I highly recommend a bike trip to northern Italy. It was amazing!