🤗
be welcome in Firenze
special notices for winter 2024-2025
very often some spam filter send in the spam folder my replies,
so if within a few hours you have not received my reply, better you
look in the spam folder. - If you are so strict not to accept my email in your mailbox how can I be
accepting you in person in my home?
On some days you will see a hourglass symbol with a date nearby: it means
that I have unconfirmed plans for that days that could lead me far from home
so until the specified date cannot give a firm confirm; on the other way
dates more than 4 weeks away could not appear, feel free to ask but do not
expect to have always immediate confirm for such dates.
About last minute requests: If you ask for staying here less
than 4 days in advance I expect you are ready to answer to my answer
quickly. After 4 hours from my reply without acknowledgement
I will assume you could have changed your plans and so would not
reserve space; If your request is for the same day this limit
is just one hour. Keep phone on that is some cases is possible I
will call you. I DO NOT USE WHATSAPP or other meta products
so only numbers that I can call with a normal phone call and that are active.
(if you miss the deadline call me immediately,
usually [that is if i do not have a waiting list] there are no
problem even for a late reply of a few hours)
In general every day is "omnivore day" so you will be free to cook
what you prefer the day it will be your turn to cook but the other days
leave complete freedom to the one[s] that will have their
cooking turn;
not eating what has been prepared for you, here is considered rude both
toward the cook and toward the host; asking
someone to cook something different that what had expected to cook is
easily leading to get unhealty meals.
Due to pressing recurrent requests I have set a few "potentially
vegetarian friendly days" tagged with pv on
the calendar, when -if expressely requested when you send your request-
can be prepared a vegetarian [according italian definition] meal.
If your arrival day is not tagged pv nor
VF, if you really do not want to eat
some specific kind of food on the day of arrival, you may ask also
other days, provided that on expected arrival day is set 7 as number
of possible guests AND the day is NOT tagged with neither 🌙
nor ✝.
I am available to host during the holydays but for stay on
24-25-26-31/12 and 1/1 please ask at least 6 days in advance.
If you are a group of 4 or more -up to 9- please
read the chapter about groups, even if in the day you arrive do not appear enough free places
Due to maintenance works scattered all around in the area of
Firenze, at least until mid december, public transportation
in this area is less reliable and more subject to changes than usual.
For this reason, unless you are using your own means of
transportation for all the way to my home, the exact travel
plan to arrive here will be a major point on the decision
to accept you or another group but also it will
lead to restart the process of acceptance in case, for any reason,
you change one or more of the details of arrival trip.
please note that times and itineraries on googlemaps and
many other travel assistance services could be not been
updated for these changes that often last just a couple of
days.
my e-mail address for contacts:
leo5ucc@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 2024-11-21 I can host 3 people,
On 2024-11-22 I can host 5 people,
On 2024-11-23 I can host 6 people,
On 2024-11-24 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-11-25 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-11-26 I can host 6 people,
On 2024-11-27 I can host 6 people,
On 2024-11-28 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-11-29 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-11-30 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-01 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-02 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-03 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-04 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-05 I can host 7 people, 🌙
On 2024-12-06 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-07 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-08 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-09 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-10 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-11 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-12 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-13 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-14 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-15 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-16 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-17 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-18 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-19 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-20 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-21 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-22 I can host 7 people,
On 2024-12-23 I can host 7 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!
In the days marked with
↓
for different reasons I cannot accept new people arriving at my home exactly
on that days while place is still available for people that were here since
at least the previous day (so you may freely ask even these days as a final
or intermediate days of your stay). Note that the status may change closer to
the date, so may worth check again closed to date.
Specific informations valid for winter period 5/12 to 7/1:
- When planning you have to know that that 8, 25 and 26 december and
1 and 6 january are public holidays while 24 and 31 december are 'half holydays'.
on 24 and 31/12 shops close around 1730 and public transport ends at 1930;
on 25 and 26/12 and 1/1 all shops are closed; on 25 and 31/12 and on 1/1
there is almost no interurban bus service
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, 4 hours if it is less than 5 days,
thirty minutes if your arrival were within 25 hours),
I will not keep longer on hold the place for you.
Days marked with ✝
are the principal public holydays, or days with special uses.
For that days I could be unable to satisfy special dietetic
requirements expecially for people arriving exactly on that days.
In particular on some special days there are traditional
meals, so people that have eating costraints must avoid to ask 1/1 or 25/12 if
they do not eat some kinds of meat, have wheat, sugar or nuts intolerance or
do not drink alcool; 15/8 if they do not eat pork, and 31/12 if they do not
eat pork, lentils or have wheat intolerance or do not drink alcohol.
... and finally a warning for this period: not only in Firenze there are a lot
people visiting the city, but also a lot of mosquitoes "visiting" tourists.
If you do not want a review on mosquitoes' michelin guide of restaurants,
better you get some cautions and be prepared to meet the breed that
during the year is the most aggressiveWhen 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 points of interest, 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 hours before arrival, once -three days before arrival- I will have
received a call from you, to confirm that phone is working and numbers are
correct.
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
one week in advance, often even less.
my e-mail address for contacts:
leo5ucc@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 where possible approximate time and
mean of transportation used) you expect to arrive, and also date and time
when you plan to leave.
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/LTE 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 reserve you the right to change dates last minute!.
Once accepted, the dates become fixed.
I expect that, unless differently specified,
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
after I have confirmed, not necessarily means that you will still be
accepted.
What
if we are a large group (or a family)? 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 or more usually I can carve out two more places when availability
in the calendar says 1 or 2 less than the required number.
about last minute requests: I cannot accept less than 24 hours in advance
requests from groups of 5 or more; smaller ones can try also last minute;
on certain days, also, I might restrict acceptance to bigger groups only it
they arrive at a time much earlier than the usual 20:45 limit.
(but see notes on availability after the general availability
calendar at beginning).
Note about families: a family is defined as a group of two or more people
when there is at least one person that is a parent of another in the group.
I will host families so defined only if at least one of following conditions
is true:
a. at least one of the person among parents or kids has been my guest before,
or I have been their guest;
or
b. at least one of the parents and at least one of
their kids has (proved by references) had at least one experience as a
guest (not by the same person) somewhere out of their home country;
or
c. cumulatively in the group there are at least 6 previous experiences with at least two as host and two as guest.
If in your group you have kids under 14 please read
the informations for this case.
What can I offer ?
home
I am in east part of town, about 20 minutes by transit to the historical center (or 3 km walking or cycling)
click here to visualize a map of the area
In
Italia communal meal with guests is an institution, and many people come to my
house also for the "kitchen sharing"; so your host will expect its guests to
share at least one main meal together, the day they arrive, or two if they stay
more than one night.
Dinner is usually at 21:10.
More details on meal sharing HERE
Who cook on a certain day has the right to decide what to cook.
So in general assume it is omnivore diet.
If you stay three or more days and expect one evening not being here for
dinner, please tell it at time of sending the request, or at least three
days before arrival.
There are more or less oftenrarely
some vegetarian friendly days, listed in the
general availability calendar, pv or
VF,
when vegetarian people may ask -at time of request- to have vegetarian
food, while in all the other days who will cook has the right to decide
what to cook.
Since if you are vegetarian often the number of vegetarian friendly
days are in certain months too few, I might give you some extra days, as long
you arrive on a day when there are no other guest that has to cook or to
whom i could have promised some local food. This happeens when you see 7
free places AND the day is NOT tagged with 🌙 nor ✝.
Remember that in Italy «vegetarian» is one that eats eggs and
cheese and drinks wine and beer, but do not eat any kind of meat,
including seafood. see for informations about that.
Breakfast is around 08:40
(but in Italia you are not required to attend, neither expect that someone
prepares for you)
Do not expect that I will take you around
to visit the city unless you have some specific interests (but -if weather
allows- we can easily organize excursions in the nature around);
if you write me in advance telling me your interests I can however give you some
suggestions or prepare a thematic itinerary.
please note that due to (long term) roadworks, from february 2021 the stop for
buses arriving from city center has been moved 750 m far from here
(I have not updated the map on this site since situation could have changes
almost every month until end of 2024).
House policy says that when there is
no people of the family, even the guests are out. In general I do
not leave home early, at least not before 9:30; just
on some days it is possible that I leave earlier, but these would be
marked in the calendar with 🕖; unless differently arranged do not
expect I be back home until 1920.
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 expecteded to do a complete cleaning
of the room before leaving.
.
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 time of request or at least 36 hours
before arrival, same notice in advance if you need space in the fridge,
need to do laundry or need to use kitchen to prepare your breakfast.
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
certain phones do not work correctly with SMS (sometimes it is also
a question of phone_model-operator-installed_software triplet!).
- if you plan not to stay
with me for dinner on one of the evenings, please tell me at
least 3 full days in advance. (preparation of certains typical food,
certain times spans on more days and I don't want to throw away food,
also accept that if you were the only guest and I had better options
in the late evening I could say "no dinner: no bed").
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, so i know if yu will be "compatible" or not
with the other people present.
- We will share expenses 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,
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 it is possible I already had ready most of the ingredients.
- If you want to change the day
or time of arrival, or change way of transportation expect to
renegotiate availability
- do not smoke in the house, nor in
the balcony
- The guests have one bathroom all for them,
so cleaning is left to them; 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 prepare your
own breakfast: you must ask me before 2130 of previous day, telling which
tools you need; kitchen have to left free after 08:40 and dining
room after 09:00 (tea and coffee facilities are in the dining room)
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
leo5ucc@trail.it
specifying there your username and adding the e-mail addresses of
all other travelmates,
and expecially your cell phone number, caring 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 your request is for more than 8
days in advance, I can wait for your reply even 24 hours, but if you
require hospitality 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 and reply to the message.
If I think we need a quicker turnaround in replies, I 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 on an hospex community,
but I ask as a minimum that the person
that makes the request indicate name and personal contact [email
address], for each one in the group, so i can reply individually
and ask further informations.
In particular I ask that all the people in the group share a common
language with me.
I can make an exception about this rule only if there is just 1 person
not sharing my -or the other guests'- languages, but at least two people
able to translate.
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. Read here for more explainations
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 three
different stations: Piazzale Montelungo, Villa Costanza, Guidoni T2 and via
Santa Caterina. While Piazzale Montelungo and Santa Caterina are 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 0430 and 2345 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) GuidoniT2 is still in the city but
distance (in time) is more or less the same than villa Costanza.
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 some fast train services to/from that direction
be sold-out (and regional service is not present in many weekends).
I recommend to buy such tickets at least 3 days in advance to avoid surprises.
If you have not found cheap enough train select "solo regionali",
that have a lower base fare, in this case ticket should be bought
only on same day (there are no reservations), hovewer on certain days
it is possible there are none of such trains, so check before online if
you may buy a ticket for such day. If still the fare looks high consider
the offer "Italia in tour" that does not appear when you select a trip,
but it is a pass, that you can buy in "offerte regionali" section,
that for 29 EUR allow you three consecutive days of travel on regional
trains [or 5 days for 49 EUR ].
On public holydays
(in 2024/2025 they are 1/11 8/12 25/12 26/12 1/1 6/1 21/4 25/4 1/5 2/6 24/6 15/8)
public transit services from my area start at 0600 (while on weekdays
at 510, 520 on saturday and 0605 on sunday,
so take it in account if you have a long distance services leaving from a
distant terminal early in the morning.
bus tickets must be bought before boarding. it can be paid on board only
with contactless credit card of VI/MC/AX circuits
Train ticket vending machines usually accept only credit or debit cards,
these cards must have a chip and a 4 to 6 figure PIN. there are around
some cards that does not requires a pin, and these will not be accepted
museums: check always the opening days on their sites.
You may buy also a combined ticket including Uffizi, Palazzo pitti, Boboli, giardino Bardini,
museo Archeologico and Opificio delle Pietre Dure; in any case Uffizi
MUST be the first visit and pass price includes reservation.
Even single tickets to Uffizi are valid to visit (within 3 days) opificio delle pietre
dure and Museo archeologico; the same option is available to visit
Giardino Bardini after Boboli (on the same day)
People age 18 to 24 (citizen of EU plus ch,fl,no,uy) pay 2 euro for
entrance at each museum (this fare is valid also for Bargello and San Marco).
WARNING: From 11 february until november 10
some state museums apply a surcharge up to 80%
(Uffizi, Boboli, Palazzo Pitti) on their regular prices for general public;
so if your plans are to visit museums, I suggest you to move your visit
to Firenze in low season (10/1 to 10/2 or 10/11 to 20/12), when it is also
much less crowded and enjoyable.
page generated on 2024-11-20