Casa Monti happens to be the site where the first Montessori school was created, so every weekday morning there are parents and children walking their kids here to school; it's really a very charming place. Pasquale met us there after hours (thank you!) and provided us with detailed instructions in English that saved us heaps of time sorting things out and feeling comfortable.
There are restaurants and shops nearby all open on European time, meaning don't try to get any shopping or eating done between 11am and 2pm. But, things are open late, and there's a Carrefour market on the same street as the local church so it's easy to find and open almost all the time.
If you need to print plane tickets there's a bookstore across the street who also sells model planes! that printed our pages for us at .10E a page. Not a bad deal!
San Lorenzo is not the flashiest neighborhood, but it doesn't need to be, it's great just the way it is, historic and gritty. And I highly recommend this apartment (I'm going to be telling another friend after I send this) for a couple or small family, there's lots of room, the building is secure, and you're close to everything on the 71 bus or the #3 and #19 trains. The trains, in particular take you to both the Vatican and the Colisseum with ease, make sure to buy your BIT tickets for anyone 11 or older in your group in round trip batches, so you don't have to search for tickets for the return trip.
Thanks Pasquale for being so responsive, considerate and helpful, and to anyone looking to book here, do it fast before this secret gets out!
