Mario was the definition of a gracious host. As other guests have experienced, he picked us up at the train station, drove us around Florence, took us to a grocery store to stock up, and his wife baked a luscious lemon tart, which was in the refrigerator when we arrived. The apartment was very well stocked, had Internet access, and other comforts. Mario was accessible if we had questions and offered to take us to a Tuscan hill town when we expressed interest. We didn't end up having time, but he wanted to make sure we were able to do what we wanted. The only drawbacks: The apartment is on the outskirts of Florence, more suburban than city; the scooters and motorcycles on the street outside start gearing up around 4:30 a.m.; and the bed was quite hard. Still, a good experience with a fabulous host.