[Tutor] wanting to learn

[Michael yaV]

A little background on myself. I am a web designer so I am a Mac  
person. I have taught myself HTML and flash by reading manuals and a  
lot of trial and error over the last 11 years. I have always wanted to  
learn a language like php, asp, .net but I never took the time to  
learn them. I have recently found Python and  believe this is the  
language that I will "hang-my-hat-on" and learn.
I don't have any formal training in any coding language but I do have  
the "will" to learn.
Since my background is web, I want to learn Python and how it relates  
to the web. I have been told that I need to learn and understand the  
basics in "standard/general" Python before I move onto something like  
"django" but really, how much Python do I need to know before I can  
head down the web path?
Is Python a language a total beginner/tutorial reader like myself can  
learn or do I need to take classes at a local college? Is their is  
just too much to learn to do this on my own. I am starting to get a  
bit over whelmed with all of the information I'm finding.
So, can anybody head me in the right direction with my endeavor?
Since I am on an intel/Mac which IDE should I be using? Which one will  
be robust enough to take me through my journey? I have started with  
IDLE but I have been told that it is a bare bones IDE. So, if I need  
to learn how to use a IDE, I want to learn one that I will not have to  
discard as I become more familiar with the Python language.

Thanks for any help.