🤗 Be
Welcome in Firenze
Important notices for winter 2021-2022
(until 18 april 2022)
currently (january 2022, probably until end of february) bus
services in the area are sometime disrupted:
until fixed please, if you use bus services, take some extra time.
this means that if you plan to arrive here by bus expect to be at bus station
Villa Costanza no later than 1810 or at SMN station no later than 1940.
this disruption does not affect your trip if you come by train, so you can
get even the train at 2022 from SMN still being on time, nor if you come
by car or cycling.
Until 18 april I do not have any non-movable errand or task, so usually
I should be able to receive you at the time more convenient for you.
This however is true only if you ask me at least three days in advance,
since for last minute, if I had already set my schedule, this could not
be longer true, and sometime I could not receive you before 2020.
I expect every night to have dinner together (cooking alternatively) so
if you do not expect to spend all evenings here or not to have your day
of cooking, look for another accommodation.
This is the only non
negotiable rule: it is not fair to have to remain home alone just to wait
someone spending the night out, when you could have other options.
In the same period will not be planned in advance any vegetarian friendly
day: you will be free to cook what you prefer the day it will be your
turn but the other days leave complete freedom to the one[s] that will
have their cooking turn;
If you are a group of 4 or more -up to 7- please
read
first here even if in the day you arrive do not appear enough free places
my e-mail address for contacts:
leo5u9c@trail.it
If
you arrived here it is because you wanted to come in my home.
We
say "patti chiari amicizia lunga" (clear pacts, long
lasting friendship), so read carefully:
When can I host you ? home
The dates for which I can take in account requests at this time are:
On 2022-01-21 I can host 3 people,
On 2022-01-22 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-23 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-24 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-25 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-26 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-27 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-28 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-29 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-30 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-01-31 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-01 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-02 I can host 3 people,
On 2022-02-03 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-04 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-05 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-06 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-07 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-08 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-09 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-10 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-11 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-12 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-13 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-14 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-15 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-16 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-17 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-18 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-19 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-20 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-21 I can host 5 people,
On 2022-02-22 I can host 5 people,
If you see changing the availability after I have sent
you an e-mail reply it does not mean that I cannot longer
host you, but just that I set aside for you the space!
between 3 january and 16 april 2022
on monday usually I leave home around 10 and on saturday at 9.
Mind it when making your sleeping plans.
Unless differently stated, if after my reply I won't receive a
reply from you within a reasonable time (two days if request is more than 3 weeks away,
one day if more than 5 days, 8 hours if it is less than 5 days,
two hours if your arrival were within 26 hours),
I will not keep longer on hold the place for you.
When I say that I want a phone number I want to say
that I want to have a globally reacheable phone number, so a number that
can be dialed by any public service and route the call to you cellphone
that have to be active. Actually I will send you all details to arrive at my
home within 300 meters at the time you send the request so you know exacly how
much time you need to the various attractions, and print the maps and timetables
in advance (or you may read here :-)),
but I will give my complete address only by calling you at that number a
couple days before arrival, once I will have received your confirm SMS.
The dates shown above are the ones opened to everyone for which I
may confirm hospitality at the time you read it.
However to give opportunity to bigger groups to found an accomodation together,
since I am one of the very few hosts in Firenze able to host 5 or more people,
such larger groups may ask and have confirm also for further dates
until a reasonable future.
Also, irrespectively of what is written in the calendar, one day stays are subject to final confirm only at a maximum of
two weeks in advance, often less.
my e-mail address for contacts:
leo5u9c@trail.it
How much time can I host you ?
Preferred stay is 2 to 4 nights, but I can make exceptions, just ask.
Normally
I will confirm once we have had an e-mail exchange and all personal
informations; according the period of the year I may have one to
four rooms available for guests.
Only two have single beds. So, if you are more than one
person, when requesting, tell me if you prefer single or double beds.
If you say that is just a preference for single or double, but not a
constraint, this would help a lot.
In case you ask only single beds, tell me if you
accept to share the big room, that has three single beds,
with other guests.
In your request
please state clearly the exact date and approximate time and the mean of transportation
you expect to arrive, and also date and time when you plan to leave.
You will ease avoiding error if you include arrival date in the subject of the
e-mail, also if you have already booked the train/bus/plane tell its number.
Include also a list with the complete names and e-mail of all the people
in your party, as well at least one working GSM phone number that I can use
to call you while arriving and. -very important- an indication if some of
you have dietary constraints.
I will consider the request complete only when I will have all these
informations
"dates are flexible"
does mean that in case I had no availability in the day[s] you ask,
rather than declining, I may offer you an option to shift dates, not that
you may change dates last minute!.
Once accepted, the dates become fixed.
I expect that, unless differently specified, that
you reply after my confirm message no later than 2 days, if arrival date
is more than 2 week apart, 24 hours in the other cases but within
3 hours if request were sent less than 48 hours before arrival
(keep phone on, if last minute I may directly call you)
Note that if you ask to change the dates
- except if you just reduce by one day a 3 or more days stay-
after I have confirmed, not necessarily means that you will still be
accepted.
What
if we are a large group ? home
I can host even groups of 5 or
more people, up to 9: since I am one of the few ones in my town that is able to
host such a large group, to give them more chances I may also accept requests
for dates more than 5 weeks ahead, up to a reasonable future. For groups of
4-7 people I can carve out two more places when availability in the calendar
is 5 or sometime (on january and february) even 4 or 3.
For last minute requests: I cannot accept same day requests from groups of 5
or more; smaller ones can try also last minute
(but see notes on availability after the general availability
calendar at beginning.
BTW: between october and april I have available only 3 single beds,
so if you are 4 or 5 you will get a double
and two/tree single beds and if 6 or 7 two doubles and two/three singles.
What can I offer ?
home
- Do not expect that I will take you around
to visit the city (but -if weather allows- we can easily organize excursions
in the nature around), but if you write in advance telling me your interests
I can give some suggestions or prepare a thematic itinerary.
- My home is in east part of town, 4.8 km
walking or cycling from the city hall
click here to visualize a map of the area.
please note that due to (long time) roadworks, from february 2021 the stop for
buses arriving from city center is 750 m far from here (I have not updated the map
since situation could have changes almost every month until end of 2023).
- Dinner is usually around 2115
- In Italy communal meal with guest is an institution,
and many people come to my house for the "kitchen sharing" so your host will expect guests
to share at least the main meal together, the day they arrive, two if they stay more
than 2 night.
More details on meal sharing HERE
-
In general omnivore diet.
Since the number of people that did change their plan really last minute,
sometimes even after dinner had been prepared, has been quite consistent,
this lead to often have to freeze something that had been prepared for them.
For this reason until my freezer will not have been emptied by all stuff bought
for people that did not show,
I won't be able to accept guests with special dietary requirements unless
with very special arrangements and conditions.
Read the specific page for more informations!
- House
policy says that when there is no people of the family, even the
guests are out. In the fall-winter period in general I do
not leave home early, at least not before 930; just on some days it is possible that I leave
earlier, but normally these are marked in the calendar.
In general I ask guests to leave the room free, on the day they leave, no
later than 820, to give time to clean it. If it is not a day I
leave more or less early you may stay longer, but if you
leave after 820 you are required to do a complete cleaning of the room.
.
- Free internet access.
In case you need to use it after you leave my house, it is accessible
also from the benches on the park in front ot the house.
- If you have bicycles you
can use my garage, but ask me at least 36 hours before arrival,
same if you need space in the fridge or need to do laundry.
What
i am asking you ? home
Some people complained that i
had too many rules: I wrote the rules here, so you can
decide if they are reasonable for you and then send me a request or not:
- Call me using your phone
to confirm arrival 3-4 days in advance,
including your estimated time of arrival, if you don't not only I
cannot help with logistics, but I will cancel your request.
Please do not use other ways to confirm than voice calls since sometimes
while roaming SIMs do not work correctly with SMS (sometimes it is also
a question of phone model-operator-installed software triplet!).
for
last minute requests of course people should be ready to get what has
been prepared, so if you have alimentary constraints tell me when you
send the first request.
- We will share expense for food; people that stay more than one day
is expected to cook at least one day.
In that case think about a recipe that you know you can prepare
(possibly, but not necessarily from your region), and take a list
of ingredients with quantities (by mass), this would help in buying the
right quantity and adapt according the number of people that evening,
also is possible I already had ready most of the ingredients.
- do not smoke in the house, nor in
the balcony
- The guests have one bathroom all for them. also cleaning
is left to them, so keep it clean, for the people that come after you.
- do not contaminate
recycle bins (or you have to clean it too)
- do not take anything out
of kitchen (glasses can be get lost or broken in strange places,
food could have been a key ingredient for next dinner)
- if you help cleaning in
the kitchen never put knives in dishwasher, on the other part
plastic and glass cannot be safely washed by hand
- do not open the window in
the dining room unless you remain inside that room ready to close it.
(if there is just a bit of wind current will be strong and internal
doors can slam and be damaged)
to
get a quicker reply - Last
minute requests home
When you send a request or
reply to a last minute invitation, to be sure to get a quick reply
always send an email to the address that appear at beginning of this page,
specifying there your username and adding the e-mail addresses of all other travelmates,
and expecially your cell phone number, minding that my reply could
arrive from a different email address, or a different phone number,
so check that you accidentally
(or voluntarily) had not set your spam filter to ignore messages,
or your phone not to ring from unknows callers.
When you send arrival and leaving dates,
unless differently written, I assume that you arrive at my home
between 1950 and 2020 on the arrival day, and leave between 0700 and 0830 on
departure date (too many people set as end day the last night,
so actually end requesting a day less than they expect).
If you send a request very
close to arrival date remember to give answers, in your request, to the
questions about the kind of bed that you prefer, the time you plan to
arrive and leave and if you have food intolerances. This would help
to know immediately if there are problem or on the other side accept
immediately.
I will try to reply to your
request in the shortest time possible, but since often I receive more
requests than I can accommodate (Firenze has a lot of people coming
...) I have to ask also you to be quick in replying, so to be helpful
to as many people is possible.
So, if it is a request more than 8
days in advance, I can wait for your reply even 24 hours, but if you
require a couch in short advance I ask you to reply within a few
hours, in general I will wait one eight of the time remaining to your
arrival (1 to 6AM is neutralized).
If I will not receive an answer
within that time and have other requests I will consider it as
cancelled.
If you expect not to have internet access for some time
please post in your message a note about when you will be able to
read the message.
If I think we need a quicker turnaround in replies, I will send
you a SMS or will call you in voice, so please keep the phone on:
sometimes I need some immediate clarification, or I had
problem replying by e-mail.
I am not picky if any person
in the group does not have a personal profile, if the person
that makes the request has an adequate hospitaly exchange experience,
But I ask as a
minimum that the person
that makes the request indicate name, gender, age, place of origin
and languages spoken, beside a personal contact [email address], for
each one in the group.
In particular I
ask that all the people in the group share a common language with me.
I can make an exception just if there is just 1 person not sharing my,
or the other guests', languages.
If you are one of the people
that do not want to have a cellphone, or do not want to give to other
people their personal number you can buy a SIM just for the trip!,
otherwise I will be usually unable to host you, expecially on last
minute or when you cannot adjust your arrival time to my movements.
If there is more then one group for dinner not knowing where they are
when they are late is not nice.
Some
things you should know (even if you do not come at my home). home
When planning a visit to Firenze remember these things:
Some bus operators sell tickets to Firenze offering two
different stations: Piazzale Montelungo and Villa Costanza. While
Piazzale Montelungo is in the center, adjacent to SMN station,
Villa Costanza is NOT in Firenze, but in Scandicci at 8 km SW from city center.
There is between 5 and 24 a direct tram line to Firenze center, but this takes
at least 25 minutes (plus time to buy tickets and wait departure).
(and I live 4 km E of city center).
If you expect to arrive from Bologna and Venezia or go to such
cities after Firenze know that on sunday afternoon and often on friday it
is extremely common that expecially train services to/from that direction
be sold-out.
I recommend to buy such tickets at least 3 days in advance to avoid surprises.
On sunday and public holydays (in 2022 they are 1/1 6/1 18/4 25/4 2/6 15/8 1/11
8/12 26/12) all public transit services start at 0600 (while on weekdays at 510),
so take it in account if you have a long distance services leaving from a
distant terminal early in the morning.
About museums: check always the opening days on their site.
Until november 2022 will not be any
free opening day, but for the main state museums there is, from 2021-11-01 until
2022-02-26 the passepartout 5 offer that allow for 18 Euro the visit to Uffizi,
Boboli, palazzo Pitti, Museo Archeologico nazionale, Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
The only important thing to know is that Uffizi must be the first museum
to be visited with this pass. Any kind of ticket used for Uffizi allow also
a subsequent visit to Archologico and Pietre Dure , with the same rule.
People age 18 to 24 (citizen of EU plus ch,li,no,is,uy) pay 2 euro for each entrance
(this fare is valid also for Bargello and San Marco).