Living like a local in Florence with Francesco

When I saw Francesco's ad for the Clementina Master's Bedroom on airbnb, I immediately fell in love with the pictures, and the price. It seemed like the only downside was the location in the Le Cure neighborhood, was not really in the center of Florence (around the Duomo and Mercato di San Lorenzo areas that I am more familiar with) and that you need to share the bathroom if the guests of the other room that Francesco is also renting out. However, because the reviews from other travellers were really good and I've already jumped on the rent-a-room bandwagon in London (you can read all about my London stay here), and the price was really right, I decided to book the room anyway.

The coordination with Francesco went very well. He has very precise instructions on how to get to his place from Santa Maria Novella Station in Florence, which is accessible by bus from the Airport. He wasn't that knowledgeable about how much the fare would cost if you take a cab, but a few days before my arrival, he messaged me to tell me that he would be free when I arrived and he even borrowed his mother's car to pick me up from the airport which I really appreciated since I arrived at night. It's really above and beyond the role of a normal landlord.

Francesco is a Pharmacist who only works in the neighborhood Farmacia during weekends, and he spends the week taking care of his B&B guests. He even drove me around the Le Cure area to point out to the closest bus stops, as well as restaurants he recommended. 

Street Parking is normally an issue, but Francesco's
place has a garage.

This is his home from the outside. I really love all the small details
that gives the place it's character.

Francesco's place is on the second floor. The window of my room
can be seen on the lower right picture from the inner courtyard.

This is the entrance to Francesco's home
once you climb up the stairs.

Guests are welcome to use the kitchen, which is the first thing you see
when you step into the house.

Francesco has fruit everywhere, which guests can help themselves to,
he also tells you can use anything you want from this cupboard.

He also has a candy bowl, and a guest book which shows you that
he takes his role as B&B host very seriously.

I really, really loved the Clementina Masters Bedroom. It looked even nicer than the pictures posted on Airbnb.

The bedroom, which extends into a sitting room.

View of the room from the sitting room side.

The sitting room area.

It's even more beautiful during the day.
You can see the inner courtyard from the window.

Francesco is very thoughtful. He provides the guests with earplugs,
in case the other guests are noisy (hahaha), tissues, water and snacks.

The full length mirror also comes in handy.

The window in the main room is actually a sun roof.

I mentioned to Francesco that I really love coffee, and he said I could help myself to good Italian coffee at home, so my first day in Florence started with a lesson on how to make coffee like the Italian's do, using a moka.

An Italian Lady once told me, to put water till the valve, put the coffee
on the filter, put it on fire, then just like magic, I'll have great coffee.
She was right.

The coffee was so good, I could even take it black,
with just a little sugar.

Italian espresso is love.

I actually checked the pack and Francesco was using Lavazza Crema e Gusto. I liked it so much, I bought some to bring home. Because Francesco had fruit and good coffee, I was able to have a light breakfast at home everyday, so I could take my time in getting ready to go out.

Day 1 breakfast was Kiwi and Espresso

Day 2 breakfast was Half a Banana and Espresso and my trail mix
since the day before, my kiwi was gone in no time and I got hungry so fast
(I normally carry around the other half banana for my lunch starter)

Day 3 breakfast was Oranges and Espresso

The oranges were so good, the sweetest I ever had,
I didn't even touch the trail mix.

Day 4 breakfast was Half a Banana and Espresso again,
but this time, enjoyed from the comfort of my sitting room since I had to pack

The only tricky thing I encountered was getting out of the house, since I left on the first day after Francesco left.

Since I saw the hanging key, I used it to let myself out,
only to find out, you can just push a button. Hahaha.

I really, really loved Francesco's house.

This is the view of the neighbor's house when you
step out of the door.

Selfie with the flowers.

I couldn't leave without leaving Francesco a pop-up thank you card.
You can read about where I got there here.

Francesco was so nice, he not only called me a cab to
take me to the airport, he even waited with me till it arrived.

Francesco is also like your very own local guide. He gives you great suggestions on the good places to eat in the neighborhood, or where you can go that's out of the ordinary.

You can book the Francesco's Clementina Bedroom in Florence from Airbnb here. If you're travelling in a group that needs two rooms, that would even be more perfect because you will have the guest bathroom all to yourselves.

Thank you very much Francesco for the really enjoyable stay in your place. I am sure I will see you again! just saying.