Ok, we have dates, we have flights, we have...no place to stay! (Let us go then, you and I...)

Vacation rental research hits full stride. Wow, there is a lot to think about. We again discuss location, but since we're not renting a car, the countryside is ruled out again.

I send request after request, with no response or “sorry, not available”. I keep trying...

Finally I get a response from a listing agency in Florence that their apartment Rosa is available. The booking document will be sent in 48 hours. Two+ weeks, a couple emails and an attempt to telephone later, I receive the document. Uh oh, it's only for 2 guests. I send an email pointing this out and asking for a new booking document. I do not hear back. Finally, I request a refund. No problem, I am told, the funds will be in my bank within 3 days. A couple weeks and emails later, I do receive my refund. My impression is that this is a reputable agency, and certainly the rep was courteous, but the communication delay was too much for me to deal with on my first attempt at renting an apartment in a foreign country.

I find another apartment, albeit without A/C (but it does have the all-important washing machine!) This time we're booking directly from the owner, who has so far been friendly and very responsive. The apartment is at Via dei Federighi 2 and looks quite lovely and spacious. Looking at the location on the map, I expect it will be somewhat noisy at night, but perfection doesn’t come at this price (580 euro for the week).

At the same time, I search for an apartment in Venice. Same story…requests sent, no luck. Fortunately I come across one in San Polo, (Campiello dei Sansoni nr.899) that we think will work for us. We are not looking for anything fancy, so with A/C, a washing machine, beds for 4 and a cooking area, this should do the trick. It’s beside (or possibly above) a jazz club so will also likely be noisy at night, but at 550 euro for the week, we can live with that. I loved the San Polo district when I was in Venice with mom last March, so am really looking forward to ambling around, especially in the evening and early morning.

The apartments:

Apartment Dante in Florence

Apartment Sansoni in Venice
We booked Sansoni through the above holiday-rentals.co.uk, but had first checked it out on several other websites, including this one that has more photos:
Apartment Sansoni more photos