It would be very difficult to have had a better experience than the one we experienced. Okay, if Luca would have provided us with foot-massages every night, that indeed would have been better.

Luca's apt is fantastic. You have it all to yourself! The whole apartment is impeccably clean. The towels/sheets/etc... all first class. A significant plus for those staying a bit longer and wanting to save some money is the fact that the kitchen is very well furnished for cooking. There are many accessories, you even have a brand new Bialetti coffee maker, microwave, etc...

The neighborhood is residential and inhabited by locals. I considered the following a good point: the area is so very not-touristy that you're bound to get a semi-scowl from some old-timer who seems to think that even this part of Venice is now being 'invaded' by the two tourists in the cafe. But do not worry, eveyone was friendly enough! The streets are calm and wide, there is a lot of very interesting architecture. There is a lot of green parkland all around the neighborhood. No lack of cafe's, green-grocers, restaurants. A great place to come back to after a long day of walking/observing.

And of course, if you're going for the Biennale, you couldn't find a better location.

If you stay here, it's essential that you invest in the vaporetto pass (3day, 35€ and you can/should purchase it at the airport/trainstation because you'll be using it right away, otherwise a one-hour vaporetto ticket costs something like 7€). Even I who am a avid-walker found the distances too much to walk all the time between the apartment and where I had to go.

And last but not least, Luca is very attentive and makes himself available. I called him up and asked him if he had an extra pair of sheets... a few minutes later he was at the door with a fresh set. And I won't mention some other generous details to avoid raising the guests' expectations simply because it's the cherry on the cake that perhaps Luca doesn't always have the time effect. Let's just keep it at Luca goes out of his way to be a gracious host.