Giulia agreed to let us deposit our bags at the apartment before check-in time so that we could explore Florence without having to drag our luggage around. We really appreciated this. The apartment is quite lovely and spacious, especially the "master suite," which features a large and very comfortable bed, spacious closet and a private 1/2 bath and shower. It was nicely decorated. We chose this apartment because we were traveling with another couple, and were having difficulty finding a place that truly offered two private bedrooms and not just one bedroom and a pull-out sofa for the other couple. The bathrooms, especially, are very nice in this apartment.

Unfortunately the heavy rains during the time we were in Florence and a leaky kitchen window caused the kitchen to flood the first night we were there. Giulia has warned us this might happen and had left towels to stop the leaks, but we were out at the time of the rain. We cleaned up the water and notified Giulia, who was very apologetic. It rained again the following night and morning, but this time we prevented the water from coming in with many towels. Giulia had a carpenter booked to fix the problem as soon as we checked out, so as long as you make sure this issue is resolved, this is a wonderful place to stay. The neighborhood is very close to many of the historic and cultural sites in Florence. It is across the street from a park and a day care, and quite noisy at rush hour with traffic, etc., but these are typical city noises and did not bother us. One huge plus was the proximity to the Sant' Ambrogio market, which is the market the locals frequent and features very friendly vendors, excellent food and a wonderful atmosphere. We shopped here twice and befriended a great baker/cheese seller who had lived in San Diego for three years and was giving us excellent deals on bread, cheese and pastries.

I would definitely recommend this apartment as a good place to stay for comfort, location and a good flavor of Florence.