We were met by Sandro having texted from the airport as we got a taxi and we were given a very warm greeting at the apartment. So much praise has been written about Sandro+Susanna and the apartment and we can only wholeheartedly agree. The Apartment is very well furnished just like a home from home and quite spacious and very comfortable. The location is excellent being only 3 minutes walk from Sante Croce and maybe no more than 10 from the Duomo. Before he left us at the apartment Sandro showed us around the location of the bins and supermarket. This was very useful and gave us a head start. There was a good information folder as well. During our month long stay over Christmas and New Year, we became very familiar with historic Florence which was a real advantage by being able to get from A to B by the back streets avoiding the tourist crush on the main thoroughfares. We did all of the main attractions and would recommend getting tickets a day or two before your visit and always booking the first visit of the day when they open the doors. For example, we did Giotto's Campanile at 0815 and were up and down before a queue had formed and after a coffee did the walk to the top of the Duomo. A bit tiring but again well worth the visit. The high points of museums for us was the Bargello Museum and Gallileo's Science Museum, these are a must and are on the edge of the tourist route meaning fewer crowds. Other places are Santa Croce church which has a surprising amount and surpasses the Duomo (not the Cupola) as a place needing to be visited. Using the buses we visited Piazzale Michelangelo. Places we found disappointing were the Accademia which was so overcrowded with masses of cruise ship parties en masse, even with us being first in line, within 15 minutes of entry we could not move but during that time managed to see David. We left after 40 minutes. The other minor disappointment was the Duomo which is not a touch on Santa Croce. Well, that is a synopsis of our month long trip to Florence and we would definitely recommend Sondra and Susanna's apartment for comfort, location and cost.