Well, following the excellent advice from this column, we have finally booked and paid the deposit on a Roman apartment for 10 days. It is in the Prati area at 197 via Germanico; for those who want to view it, go to - www.rentalinrome.com - go to the St. Peters area, and scroll down to "Ottaviano Appartamento" Those careful viwers will notice it is described as "within a few steps of St. Peters" - well, its more like 900 to 1000 steps! And the map shows its position down on the left of Via Germanico close to St. Peters; whereas no. 197 is further to the right, and about half way between the Metro stops of Ottaviano and Lepanto. (I hope there are no other surprises!)
Anyway, we have booked it, and I'm sure all will be o.k.
Now I need some advice. I have read carefully all the fine print on the contract - all heating, electricity, final cleaning are in the price of the apartment, so we should only have to pay for all food and drink, all cooking ingredients, soap, toilet paper, washing machine powder?
Is there anything else we should be thinking about?
I would welcome any advice or suggestions anyone can offer.
Thank you in anticipation.

By coincidence I was just in that building. It's beautiful, with a big courtyard. The Prati quarter is large, generally described as "near the Vatican," which much of it is. Your building is walking distance, but, as you've found, not next door. Closer, on Via Cola di Rienzo, and more important, are an excellent market and the fabled tavola calda Franchi and coffee emporium Castroni (both much more extensive than those designations suggest), as well as the excellent shopping on via Cola di Rienzo and via Ottaviano. You'll love it. There is also an Apple computer store.

Maureen
www.maureenbfant.com

quote:

Originally posted by Pee Jay:
... Now I need some advice. I have read carefully all the fine print on the contract - all heating, electricity, final cleaning are in the price of the apartment, so we should only have to pay for all food and drink, all cooking ingredients, soap, toilet paper, washing machine powder?
Is there anything else we should be thinking about?....

Hi Pee Jay -
Scroll down this page on the Slow Travel website for ideas on things to take with you on your trip. Scroll down a bit more to take a look at the section on "When You Arrive at Your Vacation Rental" for a list of additional supplies to purchase onsite.

Thank you, Maureen. I feel somewhat relieved now, since your reassuring reply regarding this apartment. Great web site you have! I have ordered "Trattorias" from Amazon!
Thank you, Colleen, for pointing me towards a wealth of helpful advice. What a wonderful place SlowTrav has turned out to be for "first time travellers" like us!