We really enjoyed our time at Sara's place; the location is amazing for staying out of the tourist crush in Venice. The Cannaregio area has a lot of great restaurants to try out. When you do want to venture to the sights, there are several water bus stops very close by to get where you need to go. As for the apartment itself, the view is amazing right out onto the canal. Note that there are 60 or so stairs up to the entry, but that's not so unusual for an older place and it's totally worth it.