Barbara's place was well-designed with beautiful modern/contemporary decor and immaculately clean. While the apartment is not easily walkable from the city center, it is only and a few minutes walk from a local train station and bus line, with the core Florence sights just a stop or two away. More than the comfortable stay in Barbara's apartment, I loved her hospitality!
On my first night, there was a big World Cup soccer game followed by an unrelated town festival celebration with fireworks. It was a busy night for locals, but Barbara was kind enough to invite me to join her and her friends that evening. I ended up making other plans, but I appreciated her welcoming spirit that day and the remaining ones that followed. Barbara also leveraged her tour guide skills to help orient me to Florence and share many useful (and spot-on) recommendations for my day excursions to nearby cities. I would definitely stay here again.