Samuele's wife met us as arranged and showed us their really wonderful apartment! She gave us a folder of maps showing routes to local restaurants. It is perfectly situated to explore Venice - just 10mins walk from the train station and 30mins from St Mark's. There is a valporetto (waterbus) stop just around the corner so it is easy to sail (!) down the Grand Canal to the centre. There are also 2 small supermarkets within 20metres.
The apartment itself is perfect. Very clean and a very comfortable bed. It is very quiet which makes it a bit of a shock when you step outside into the crowds walking down the street! However it is easy to walk to one of the side streets to explore the smaller canals. I recommend staying here if you want to explore Venice.