The Apartment: We loved our time in this lovely apartment in Settignano. We were met by the owner, Francesca, on our arrival who was very helpful and welcoming, showing us around the apartment and telling us everything we needed to know about the local area and how to get into Florence.
The apartment had everything we needed. The bed was comfortable with the only noise coming from the birds in the morning and the occasional sound of the neighbours leaving their house. The bathroom had an excellent shower and we were provided with plenty of towels. The kitchen was perfect for when we didn't feel like going out and though we didn't use them it was nice to have the option of using a dishwasher and washing machine during our stay. The views from our room over the olive groves were beautiful and the apartment was an excellent base for my boyfriend and me to explore Florence.

The Local Area: The town of Settignano had everything we needed, a small but well stocked shop, post office, two bars/cafes one of which was also a gelaterie and two restaurants. We had two excellent meals in La Capponcina just off the main square and 5 minutes from the apartment. The bus service to Florence was very convenient, the bus stop is 5 minutes walk from the apartment, the bus runs from 7am, every 20 minutes until around 10pm every day other than Sunday. Tickets are available either from the bus driver or from the gelaterie, just remember to stamp your ticket in the validation machine on the bus and never get on a bus without a ticket as there are lots of ticket inspectors. In Florence it stops on the Piazza St Marco, an easy and short walk to the Duomo.
All in all we couldn't have asked for a better place to be on our Italian adventure.