Folks will love staying here, in this 4-bedroom apartment just round the corner from Gucci and its ilk. You are minutes' walk from the Arno River. The apartment is huge, eclectically furnished, clean, comfortable.

The apartment has two internal patios, open to the skies. We ate our meals out there every day. The kitchen is tiny. Cooking for 6 and 7 required some ingenuity and strict organization.

Be aware that two of the bedrooms face on the street, with its allocation of drunken tourists on weekend evenings. On the other hand, we got to hear the old, excellent violinist every morning at 10:00.

Lisa is a great host. She tries not to intrude. arranging to meet you with keys, dropping off replacement wine glasses, and leaving a library of tourist guides. The night we arrived she had left a survival kit, with wine, pasta and tomato sauce, and a special local biscotti treat.

Lisa's place made our time in Florence very special.