A friend and I spent five very comfortable nights in Irene’s apartment, ably supported by her friend, Maria. Both Irene and Maria were easy to contact for assistance and advice. We chose this apartment because it offered a sleeper couch in addition to the bed in the bedroom, so we each had our own space. The apartment is well equipped with modern appliances, and we especially appreciated the use of the washing machine. The location was good in terms of access to a supermarket, two gelaterias, a number of restaurants, and a store to buy a sim card for use in Italy. It was also close to three different forms of public transport to get to the sites of interest. Maria told us about bus 81, which has its terminus at the Pigneto end within comfortable walking distance from the apartment and then passes many of the main sites, including the Palatine Museums, the Forum, Colosseum and Circus Maximus, before terminating its route within close proximity to St Peter’s Square. (A word of advice should you wish to visit St Peter’s, to avoid the very long queues that form at the security check, get there very early. We got there at 7.30am and got straight through.) The downside of the 81 bus is that it winds its way through Rome and takes a very long time to get to the centre, so should you wish to get to Termini Station, and go elsewhere from there, your best option is the tram, which gets you to Termini within about 20 minutes. Irene and Maria will provide you with all this info.