We never met Natalia, but her friend Daniel met us and explained everything in English. He was very nice and told us we could use the shampoo, coffee etc. that were already in the apartment. And he'd take care of washing the sheets when we left.

This is fairly basic accommodation for North Americans--e.g. no electric coffee maker, no tv--but good value for the money: firm beds, near a grocery store and markets, near reasonably priced restaurants, near a metro station and for us within walking distance (20 to 30 minutes) of the big museums and downtown shopping. Also, no bugs anywhere (yay!). The neighbourhood felt safe (we're in our sixties) but a few locals were noisy in the street at night, especially Saturday. Only major complaint: the wifi is shared and didn't always work properly (Natalia had warned us about this), probably when someone else logged on; okay late at night and early in morning, however.