We’ve just returned to Rome after 5 days in Sicily, staying in Gresi’s apartment at 203 Via Garibaldi, Zafferana Etnea. We are very seasoned Airbnb users, having stayed in Airbnb rentals in many places in Italy, France, Ireland and the USA, since 2011. Firstly, Gresi herself was very charming. Our flight from Rome was delayed by an hour, and it took an hour and a half to get our hire-car from Hertz at the airport (that is a different story!), so she had to wait for us for well over two hours after our initial estimated arrival time. On arrival, she showed us all we needed to know about the apartment. We had trouble logging on to the internet, but she sorted this out with her service provider on the spot. It was quite a fast internet, with streaming of Netflix (Italy) not being a problem, though streaming ITV from the UK (via VPN) suffered from buffering issues. The location is excellent – a short walk (300 m) to Piazza Umberto, the heart of the town, with lots of bars, restaurants, etc. Watching the evening “passiagata” from one of the bars on the piazza (or even from one of the many public benches), is a great way to pass a couple of hours (as is the case in most towns in Italy). The apartment itself is just as described in the Airbnb website. Some comments: • The apartment is quite new (the Google Earth Street View image from 2010 shows the building under construction), with modern appliances, furniture, etc., all of high specification. • It occupies all of the top level (2nd storey) of the building, so some stair-climbing is required. • The street could be very noisy, but the high-tech double glazing, and the high-tech external shutters (with adjustable louvers!), and thick curtains, provides complete sound-proofing. These features also make it easy to keep the place cool (or warm in winter). • The reverse-cycle air-conditioning (separate units for the living room and bedroom) works very well (as it had to do last week with temperatures in the mid-30s (centigrade). (These are modern inverter units, so are very quiet). • The off-street secure private parking at No. 195, a few doors down from the apartment, was invaluable, as parking on Via Garibaldi is often very difficult to find. Customers of the bakery at No. 191 often park in front of the garage door, for the short time required to make their purchases – a minor inconvenience. (A few blasts on the car horn when we first arrived was all that was required to get the customer to come out to move, so we could enter. (The Street View image from 2010 shows a delivery truck parked there). • The terrace is a wonderful feature – large, well-equipped, private, well-shaded, fully secure, child-friendly. The wonderful view is marred somewhat by the scaffolding on the property behind (a renovation that has ground to a halt), but this property provides some screening to...