I fell in love with Florence, and with la Gabbia del Grillo! This place offers a retreat from the noise, the crowds, and the busy hustle of the city AND the convenience of being in the center of Florence. Santa Maria di Fiori is a 2 minute walk, the train station Santa Maria novella is maybe 10 minutes. Alain is such a wonderful person. He was extremely helpful, courteous, and polite. One night we called him to ask for directions to open the sofa bed, and he came over- despite the cold and that it was late, and showed us how to do it. The apartment itself is very clean, the kitchen well equipped and convenient, and the bed very comfortable. I LOVE that is is located within a courtyard. You have to go through giant wooden doors and an iron gate before getting to the yard. So we felt very safe. Alain and Irene live in the same building, so when you get there, ring the doorbell with the label: Irene e Fernanda. I didn't know which one to ring so I walked the city for about 2 hours carrying my luggage looking for wifi until a nice gentleman at the bar (cafe) lent me his phone to call Alain. Stay at la Gabbia del Grillo, you won't regret it. We are so grateful- we only regret our stay was not longer. We will return, and when we do, we will stay with Irene and Alain. It definitely feels like home there. Thank you for everything!