Michelle was a great host. He was very responsive and gave me an excellent orientation to Firenze when I arrived for a 3 week stay. He was very generous with his time and patient with my questions. I ended up following all of his suggestions and was glad I did!
The apartment is in a GREAT location. Everything you need is within a few blocks. Cafes, restaurants, grocery shopping, bank, post office. And so many important sites in Firenze are close together anyway. 20 minutes walk at most! But many within 5-10 minutes of the apartment. Train station might be 30 minutes. I loved coming home on this small stone street I got to know. And hearing the church bells out the window was completely lovely. The apartment is up high with one big window, and I found the city sounds very soothing.
The apartment felt spacious and private. I slept well. The shower had good water pressure and worked well, as did everything in the kitchen. The only problem I had was with some dust and that’s because I have a dust allergy. I'm writing this only for people who share this annoying allergy. In general, the apartment was clean. And the sheets and towels were super clean, which was nice. But I found I couldn’t sit on the couch without sneezing. I think this would only be an issue for people with specific allergies.
Michelle also turned me on to a new service in Florence called Mobike. These bikes with orange wheels are all over the city center. You can find them with GPS through their app. You scan a bike, it unlocks, ride it to your destination, and relock the bike for the next person who comes along. No need to bring it to a particular bike station. Super convenient. The most I rode was 20 minutes (the city is small), and I never paid more than .30 Euro. That's right, 30 cents!! In the entire 3 weeks I think I spent an entire 8 Euros. When the cobblestones were wearing out my feet, Mobike saved me!