Staying in Claudia's apartment gives you a real taste of what it feels like to live in Milan. Location is perfect, Porta Venezia has great amenities-some fabulous bars and bakeries close by. It's a pleasant 15 min walk to the Duomo, but I would recommend buying a 3 day travelcard for 12 euro-we travelled all over Milan,and used all forms of transport.
The apartment itself is charming, cosy and comfortable. It was great to have cable TV after we'd been out all day. The bed was a little hard, but we were so exhausted after long days exploring we slept well.
If you want a taste of the Italian lifestyle try Claudia's place, you won't be disappointed.