Our Florence Italy Apartment:
View our apartment listing at vrbo.com
What a great apartment. The location was incredible - just one block south of the Duomo. It's so close that the Duomo pretty much fills the window of the front bedroom. From the living room window you can see the towers of the Bargello and Palazzo Vecchio.
The apartment itself is nice-sized and very comfortable. It had the best commons area of any place we stayed, with a spacious living room / dining table / kitchen space that we used a LOT. The fridge is pretty small but was big enough for our needs, primarily keeping big bottles of soda cold. The washing machine worked great although it's small by American standards; the dryer was a big rack you draped your clothes on and placed on the patio. No clothes dryers here. The front bedroom is narrow but workable. The back bedroom has more floor space but the ceiling slopes down low in most of the space, so tall people will not like this room. The bathroom in the front bedroom area is funny - it's so narrow that there is no way I could get to the stool, let alone use it. The shower in this room was easily accessible, however, and was our primary shower space. The second bathroom is opposite the front bedroom by the front door; much better room for using the facilities although the shower space was somewhat small. We enjoyed a nice breeze through the apartment with the windows open most of the time.
There is an elevator for this apartment (on the fifth floor you'll want that). It's larger than what we had in Venice, but it's still pretty small. I'm a big guy, and when I was hauling myself and my camera bag into the elevator I had to slide my way in and out. The important thing is, however, it had an elevator which worked. Note to disabled travelers: You will have to go up some stairs to get to the elevator on the ground floor.
We communicated with Marco on the apartment, an enthusiastic and friendly Florentine who was a pleasure to deal with. We got to meet Marco's mother Linda as well; we just loved her. She was a real sweetheart and fun to chat with. Marco was trustworthy with our deposits and happy to try and help us.
If we went back to Florence, I'd be happy to stay at this apartment again.
Strange culture moment - There is a music school near the apartment so you hear musicians practicing throughout the day and evening. One evening, we listened to a large (and very good) choir and organ practicing a 17th century chorale, which was punctuated by cheers of people in buildings all around us as they watched a soccer match on TV. What an odd combination of sounds that was.
Click here for pictures .
Your view from the front bedroom window. Need I say more?
Living room
Living room
Kitchen area behind living room
View from back patio - the Bargello and Palazzo Vecchio towers are clear from this view.
Front bedroom
Front bedroom bathroom - very difficult to use this room for anything other than showers. The other bathroom was better.
Second bedroom - more space, lower ceiling.
Even though there is an elevator, you have to go up some steps before you GET to the elevator.
Despite the ground floor steps, the elevator is a godsend.