Michele was a good host; he has a nice place which, best of all, is in a real Florentine neighboorhood removed from the tourist hordes.

Michele's apartment is located south of the Arno, a one minute walk from the Piazza Santo Spirito in a neighborhood replete with interesting small shops, two bakeries, a fruit/produce store, and a small grocery store. While insulated from the large tourism throngs at the major sites in the city center, it is also an easy walk to get to almost any of them.

The apartment is simple yet with charm as the small building is a very old one. One advantage is that because it is on the (European) first floor there is only one short flight of stairs up to the front door. With windows open in the bedrooms and the LR there is a good and welcome breeze that flows through the apartment (there is no A/C but there are fans in the BRs). The bathroom is tight but this is not unusual in Europe and the water pressure is good. The kitchen has a good stock of dishware and pots and pans and the stove is gas.

There are two caveats to be aware of, although one is not unique to this unit. Firstly, while the apartment is generally pretty quiet the building is located on the final (dead-end) block of a street; this block serves as parking for the neighborhoods motor scooters/cycles. This means some noise in the morning starting about 0800 and in the evening on the riders' return. There are several workshops on the block as well but morning noise, if any, doesn't begin until near 0900.

Secondly, the Oltrarno (south of the Arno) lacks a taxi stand that I could find, and neither Michele nor my kind barrista in calling for over 45 minutes could get one for me. So I ended up walking to the train station on departure (there are lots of cabs there for those arriving). It's not far; it took me only 15 minutes, over flat if sometime cobblestoned surfaces, although I walk fairly fast.

I really enjoyed my visit to Florence and one reason for that was Michele's well-located and comfortable apartment.