Pergine Valdarno was quite an amazing discovery for us. A beautiful place and beautiful kind people, where we felt at ease and at home right from the start. It seems that people there not only know each other, not surprisingly in a place this size, but also like each other. Irene is a host that makes things happen, and she does it all with charm, warmth and energy that you do not see often. On arrival she took time to walk us around the tiny town, introduce us to its shops, bars and restaurant, all was bathed in the soft golden early evening light and felt like we stepped into a dream. The house was big enough for our two small families, the bedrooms, each with its own harmonious view, clean, comfortable and well equipped, the kitchen was also well equipped, and the garden had a small pool at the bottom - not at all of olympic size, 'doing lengths' in it was not really an option, but it was certainly big enough to play with the kids and to cool down. I have to say that the combination of the pool and the location right in the middle of a tiny hill-top Tuscan town was not only unusual, but wonderful in its functionality and showing much creativity and lateral thinking, as were many other details of the house, all designed perfectly and tastefully. A good example is the lift to the first floor bedrooms adjacent to the ancient well discovered during the house refurbishment - the lift has huge windows - one into the garden, one overlooking the old well. Everything was near - well supplied shops, friendly bars and an amazing restaurant with a huge terrace overlooking the valley of the river Arno, past the olive groves covering the foot of the hill where the town is located. Food? Well, where shall I start? With the charming cookery school evening run by Irene and her brother Edoardo, where together we cooked the delicious pesce di maiale or 'pork-fish' (go figure!) and gnocchi with home made pesto, drunk wine and chatted till late. Or perhaps with the town's restaurant with its absolutely amazing food. Or, maybe, with the well stocked shops, where, given some more time, we would have bought our own materials and cooked our own meals eating them in the garden under the vine covered roof and an old olive tree. Do I need to add that our whole trip was a food festival? Oh, and then there were the cats. A young slim black beauty visiting the garden, a 20 years old fluffy cat who outlived his owners and now is a communal cat of the town, welcoming the visitors in ...