Although I had contact with Marco, I never met him in person. I was welcomed to the apartment by his friend on my day of arrival. I was very touched to receive their welcome gifts of wine, biscotti and a bottle of water in the fridge. Thanks also for the tourist maps, and for pointing out the good local places to eat!

The apartment is located in a very nice part of Florence. I loved that it wasn't so touristy or busy as the more popular areas. There is a cute little artisan quarter nearby. I highly recommend the 'Hidden Bar' for a place to drink nearby, and the amazing pizza place 'Berberè' that does sourdough crust, oh it's so tasty!

The apartment itself is great! The whole place has very high ceilings, and there is air conditioning throughout which will be very helpful in warmer weather. There is a master bed, a sofa bed and an extra mattress. I would say the mattress tension on the sofa bed and master bed was firm, but comfortable. The pillows were memory foam and very comfy.

The sofa bed is in the same room as the kitchen (which is also an open plan dining room), but the shutters on the windows mean this room is dark enough to sleep in. The windows in the kitchen and hallway overlook a little courtyard, and when you look up you can see a patch of sky which is enough to tell you what to wear for the day. The windows in the master bedroom are located quite high up on the wall, and offer a snail's-eye view of someone's garden. There is plenty of hanging space and hangers available for those of you like me who pack way too many clothes!

There was a device for killing biting insects which you plug into a socket - coming from the UK I'd never seen one of these before, but I plugged it in just in case. None of us were bitten during our stay, so I guess it worked!

Although the water was cut off during our stay (you may have seen the road collapse on the news), Marco kept us informed of the situation and we weren't put out too much. The washing machine was very helpful, as were the few extra toiletries (such as shower gel) in the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom - if you need to do more than pass water, I would recommend using the toilet in the bathroom as the flush is stronger.

All in all, my friends and I had a wonderful time. Thanks for everything, Marco!