Alessandra's apartment in the Oltrarno district was the perfect place for our 4-day visit to Florence. It was comfortable and elegantly furnished, with everything you would need to make coffee, plan your day, relax after exploring, and even cook (which we did not because the cook was on vacation!) the bakery downstairs makes the most wonderful filled croissants and the aroma of baked good fills the lower halls. The apartment was very spacious for 2. It is in an interesting neighborhood for artisan shops, antiques, and good local trattoria. Alessandra was super helpful-she has a list of restaurant recommendations - all that we tried were fabulous- and she printed out our Uffizi vouchers and called a taxi for us on the day we departed. You couldn't ask for a better host. The location is terrific for exploring both sides of the river and wandering about in the evening. There is so much community activity in that area, you can see why Florentines live there.