From our first email contact Giulio was a welcoming and helpful host. The apartment is in a fantastic central location and is very comfortable, with dishwasher, Nespresso machine, washing machine, good heating and great kitchen and bathroom. An added bonus were the lovely, almost new, sheets and towels provided. The free wireless internet was much appreciated too.

Giulio's charming mother, Lucia, met us, let us in and showed us around the apartment. After we'd settled in, we took the 5 minute walk to Piazza Maggiore and quickly discovered Via Pescherie Vecchie, a great street full of delicatessens and fruit and vegetable shops. Just nearby was Eataly, a combined bookshop/food shop/restaurant where we had a delicious lunch.

The following day, we bought dinner provisions – including raddichio, lasagna and ricotta tortelloni – in Via Pescherie Vecchie and took them back to Giulio's where we ate for two of our three nights. Giulio had generously left cooking ingredients, such as olive oil, vinegar, sugo and tomato paste for us to use, as well as several Nespresso capsules for the machine.

We were travelling with 2 boys of 9 and 13 and they shared the sofa bed in the living room. There was plenty of space for the 4 of us for a 3 night stay, and the boys appreciated the proximity of their bed to the TV (!).

One of the reasons for our visit was to take the boys to Ferrari and Lamborghini and, while the Lamborghini factory was closed when we were there, we made the easy train trip to Modena and saw the Casa Enzo Ferrari and the Ferrari Museum in Maranello too. Both were excellent.

We really liked the Enoteca Italiana, just around the corner from Giulio's in Via Marsala. As well as being a bar, the Enoteca is a wine shop with wines grouped by region. When we dropped in it was warm and buzzing with a Saturday night local crowd. We chose a Barbera and a Lambrusco, both from Emilia Romagna and both delicious.

We absolutely loved Bologna, and the feeling of living like locals for a couple of days - shopping, cooking and walking the arcaded streets. Giulio's apartment was a relaxing place to come 'home' to after a day out and was one of the main reasons our stay in Bologna was so enjoyable – it is highly recommended.