We chose Alessandro’s place to stay because of all the great reviews – but it was even better than we were hoping for! Alessandro kindly picked us up from the train station and took us on a drive through Florence, up through the Tuscan hills and back to the beautiful AirBNB, which is next to his family home. It’s a 30-minute bus ride from the centre of Florence (bus stop directly outside the house) in a little village, Settignano, where there are lots of great authentic Italian restaurants – the perfect base to come back from a busy day. We were able to explore lots of different parts of Italy in the day and come back to a relaxing place in the evening. The views from the Terrace are stunning and we enjoyed many evenings sat there with a glass of wine. Alessandro and his wife, Nicolette, were the perfect hosts, always going above and beyond and making us feel welcome.
Whether you are looking for a bit of peace and quiet or a city break, you will be happy at Alessandro’s place as everything is right there. Upon arriving, we were given some of Alessandro’s homegrown tomatoes, olive oil, beers and crisps. These first few treats were only a sign of things to come during our 9-night stay at the Terrace, where Alessandro and Nicolette really do go above and beyond. We were able to use his tomatoes for the first few nights of our stay and they were, hands down, some of the tastiest we had ever tasted. The kitchenette is stocked with the basics and is a decent pace to cook up a few pasta dishes that can be enjoyed over sunset (salt, pepper, sugar, tea and coffee were all provided). The Terrace comes with an information book about Florence, Settignano, surrounding areas and other things to do. If you’ve any questions, Alessandro is available to answer them via messenger and responds very quickly … very useful when you’re trying to remember the name of your soon-to-be favourite gelato stop. We ate at a fantastic restaurant (a 25-minute walk) close to Alessandro’s, on two separate evenings, and were recommended which wine to go for.
The language barrier is, for the most part, non-existent with the help of some basic language skills and Google Translate. We enjoyed our time so much with Ale and Nico, that we wanted to take them for a drink but were instead asked to have a lunch prepared by Nico. My goodness, we were absolutely stuffed full with fun-filled conversation, laughter, brilliant food (thanks again, Nico) and wine. My partner and I feel that we have made genuine, life-long friends with both these characters and were so sad to leave this beautiful spot.