I can’t recommend Barbara’s place enough. From the moment I walked into the door, I felt immediately at home. Barbara is the warmest hostess and a wonderful resource. Her apartment is absolutely gorgeous and thoughtfully appointed. It is as quintessentially Italian as Barbara is—oozing simplicity and sophistication; worldliness and unpretentiousness; creativity and sheer beauty. You will feel like a local while staying with Barbara and experience Rome in ways that you didn’t think possible. The location is perfect, and I say that as someone who has lived in Rome for four years in the past. Barbara’s apartment is a few minutes on foot from the Colosseum and within walking distance of many tourist attractions. Walk a few steps in the other direction and you are in one of Rome’s most up-and-coming neighborhoods, Esquilino, with its many bars and restaurants filled with local youth. Besides the metro, there are several bus stops in the area that will take you pretty much anywhere you need to go in Rome. And you have Villa Celimontana a short walk away, too, which hosts free concerts every night in the summer. I loved staying with Barbara and I can’t wait to be back!