Massimo was a splendid host--we couldn't have asked for better. Very friendly, patient and he keeps a very clean and comfortable apartment. Good communication before and during our stay. He's a native of Venice and has a small boat, so we hired him to pick us up on a small canal just around the corner from the train station. We liked him so much we also hired him that day for an hour to take us around in his boat to the small, less touristed canals. That went so well, we hired him for two hours the following day to see even more of "back door" Venice. He arranged to drop us off at some of his favorite restaurants, where we had great food and canal-side dining away from the tourist crowds along the Grand Canal. Just today in Tuscany, we gave his contact info to some new friends so that they could enjoy the real Venice too. We would definitely love to return to Venice and Massimo's apartment.