True Confessions 1: I spent two weeks in Florence and did not visit the Uffizi, passed by the Duomo once or twice, and did all I could to avoid the Ponte Vecchio. I was not there to travel like the masses, and masses there were. I was going to spend my days as a local.
True Confessions 2: I had a cheat sheet; my sister. Having moved to Florence many years ago, she married a native and had recently given birth to my godson. I was going on the auspices that she needed my older and more experienced advice. But let’s be truthful, she has always been my teacher with her innate wisdom and true north sensibility. I was a on a lark and loving every minute of it.
Before I began my trip, I decided I wanted to stay not in some tourist hotel, charming as many of them are, but in an apartment with a kitchen, a veranda, and most importantly, a view. I found just the place through Rent Villas, an on-line apartment and villa rental organization that services all of Italy.
The beauty of Rent Villas is that you can see the apartment before you go and read reviews of where you will stay. I selected a bright sunny two-bedroom apartment just off of Piazza Santa Croce. By day, the apartment was all I could have hoped for, by night, it was a disaster. Florence University is across the street and below was the William Bar, home to many of the students until 4 am most mornings. After four successive nights of listening to the early morning mating call of the Italian male, I called Rent Villas and begged to be placed elsewhere.
Unfortunately, during high season, they did not have much to choose from. I dragged the mattress from the bedroom and slept soundly on the floor of the living room, which faced the hills behind the Arno. After some negotiation, Rent Villas agreed to provide me with a modest reimbursement for my troubles. Next time I will pay attention when the review says “noisy at night, not good for light sleepers.”
