Florence-Home Exchange
It finally happened. We have been talking about a home exchange for a long time. We continued postponing the idea due to uneasiness of having other folks living in our
home; in addition to not knowing what kind of accommodations we would get in exchange. All those fears quickly disappeared when we first met our Italian exchange family,
the Ostillios. They came to our house a few days before our departure for a visit and soon after, we arrived at their house in Florence, Italy.
We immediately knew we were going to experience something quite different as our taxi arrived to what ended up being the first of four doors to their residence. We stood
in front of a beautiful twenty-foot-long wooden door to what we later discovered to be a 14th century Palazzo in the heart of Florence. The apartment was located inside a historic Florence's building (Palazzo Aldobrandini), just a block away from Arno River, in the Oltrarno neighborhood. Upon entering the first medieval looking door, we
approached a 2nd, fifteen-foot tall iron gate to their small internal Florentine courtyard. Locking that door behind us, we hauled our luggage to 2nd floor where Ostillio's apartment was located. Passing through the 3rd door, we finally reached the fourth and the main entrance to their apartment. We immediately knew this is going to be an amazing house and quite different that our townhouse in Cambridge, as evident by its over 20-feet tall ceilings with historical engravings and crown moldings all over the walls.
The living room with its large Florentine windows had a spectacular view of a large garden in a courtyard to what was once Aldobrandini Palazzo. The original faded fresco
paintings on the walls of the courtyard lend an air to the Italian Renaissance over shadowed by the fig trees and the luscious vegetation of the garden. And towering in the near distance the bell tower of the church of Santo Spirito. Each additional room including the master bedroom, their boy's room, studio, and both bathrooms had a similar spectacular view of the Florentine walls and windows dating back to 14th century. The remainder of the historical building was transformed into three other surrounding
apartments.
We could not believe how beautiful their home was and how different from our expectations based on a few online photos. Needless to say, the novelty of the house never wore off during the twenty days we were there. To top it all off, when we got back to our home in Cambridge, the house was in a better shape than we left it. The experience of the home exchange was not only pleasant beyond our expectations, but we also made new life-long friends meeting the wonderful Ostillios: Carmela, Vincenzo, Federico and Eduardo.
Read Morehome; in addition to not knowing what kind of accommodations we would get in exchange. All those fears quickly disappeared when we first met our Italian exchange family,
the Ostillios. They came to our house a few days before our departure for a visit and soon after, we arrived at their house in Florence, Italy.
We immediately knew we were going to experience something quite different as our taxi arrived to what ended up being the first of four doors to their residence. We stood
in front of a beautiful twenty-foot-long wooden door to what we later discovered to be a 14th century Palazzo in the heart of Florence. The apartment was located inside a historic Florence's building (Palazzo Aldobrandini), just a block away from Arno River, in the Oltrarno neighborhood. Upon entering the first medieval looking door, we
approached a 2nd, fifteen-foot tall iron gate to their small internal Florentine courtyard. Locking that door behind us, we hauled our luggage to 2nd floor where Ostillio's apartment was located. Passing through the 3rd door, we finally reached the fourth and the main entrance to their apartment. We immediately knew this is going to be an amazing house and quite different that our townhouse in Cambridge, as evident by its over 20-feet tall ceilings with historical engravings and crown moldings all over the walls.
The living room with its large Florentine windows had a spectacular view of a large garden in a courtyard to what was once Aldobrandini Palazzo. The original faded fresco
paintings on the walls of the courtyard lend an air to the Italian Renaissance over shadowed by the fig trees and the luscious vegetation of the garden. And towering in the near distance the bell tower of the church of Santo Spirito. Each additional room including the master bedroom, their boy's room, studio, and both bathrooms had a similar spectacular view of the Florentine walls and windows dating back to 14th century. The remainder of the historical building was transformed into three other surrounding
apartments.
We could not believe how beautiful their home was and how different from our expectations based on a few online photos. Needless to say, the novelty of the house never wore off during the twenty days we were there. To top it all off, when we got back to our home in Cambridge, the house was in a better shape than we left it. The experience of the home exchange was not only pleasant beyond our expectations, but we also made new life-long friends meeting the wonderful Ostillios: Carmela, Vincenzo, Federico and Eduardo.
