One of the goals of my visit to Italy last summer was to bring home a La Pavoni espresso machine, it is much more affordable over there, however, it is hard to find a store that carries one with 120 volts. There is a store at Piazza Navona in Rome that can order one, but they want 100 Euros more than the same model with 240 volts. I came across Braschi in Florence, on a Friday night, saw a machine on display but they were closed, emailed them, got a response the next morning that they do have 120 volts models, they were scheduled to close at 7:30pm, they do not open on Sundays and I will be driving back to Rome. As I rushed back from Pisa, I called them, they were nice enough to wait for me past their closing time. Here is the best part, after I got back to the US, I sent the paperwork to the agency in Milan for the VAT refund, 9 weeks had passed and nothing happened, I emailed the store to see if they can help, the owner called them up, one week later I got the refund! The owner is one of the nicest person that you can meet in Italy! In hindsight, I should have gotten the refund while still in Italy, there is an option to get that before leaving. However, do visit Braschi while you are in Florence, they have plenty of other neat stuff too. read more