We spent 5 weeks staying in Giulia's apartment. It's hard to fully describe how unbelievably welcome we felt from the start, but in the simplest terms, we honestly felt like we were at home. Giulia was not only a wonderful host, but she also became somebody we could trust immensely with recommendations, insights on Florence, where to stay in other cities, etc. We felt like she was a part of our family. When you stay in a different country for so long, you can only hope you're experience is a great one. Our experience was beyond great.

What we particularly appreciated was Giulia's willingness to go the extra mile to make us feel welcome. Whether it was addressing issues with understanding the Italian washing machine instructions or helping us find specific kitchen utensils for our 19 month old, Giulia was always incredibly responsive. We knew that if we reached out to her, she'd respond almost immediately. In a word, she was just about as wonderful of a host as you could hope to have.

Also, the location of the apartment is second to none. Your about a 7 minute walk from the Duomo but just far enough way that you're not inundated by all the tourists. Take a left out of the apartment, walk 4 blocks and you're crossing the Arno. Train station is about a 15 minute walk (we made it several times with our baby, luggage, etc), a solid, old-school gym is 2 blocks away, two different grocery stores within a few minutes. Bottom line: very hard to beat the location.