This apartment overlooks a canal on a lively street in a residential area of Venice. It is away from the primary jam-packed touristy zones but close enough to walk anywhere in the city, and also a 6-9 minute walk to three vaporetti water-bus stations. A Prix grocery store is located down a tiny alley about two streets away, and there are restaurants, bars, and coffee places steps away. We were contacted a few days before arrival by Giacomo's girlfriend Guilia, who was very helpful, responsive, and spoke perfect English. Since we were driving from Tuscany and returning a rental car, it was hard for us to gauge a precise arrival time. Of course everything took longer than we expected, but Guilia was patient and gracious. She met us on the sidewalk by the apartment and showed us to the space. It is located in a former palazzo, quite a grand building. The apartment is up four sets of stone steps. Inside, it's modern and sleek. I was very excited about the small balcony overlooking a canal. I brought a barstool out there and enjoyed the view with my morning tea. The main bedroom is large, comfortable, and quiet at night. The second bedroom is a loft -- there is no door. This was fine for my teenagers but might not suit everyone. The living room, directly down from the loft, has a futon, and my daughter chose to sleep on that rather than stay upstairs with her brothers. The a/c and wifi worked great, and the switch-operated window shades were very nice. The bathroom is small and clean. The kitchen has the basics - coffee, sugar, salt, teakettle - and Guilia provided a bottle of cold water in the fridge. There is a washing machine and an outdoor area with clotheslines (but bring your own detergent). There were plenty of towels for our family of five. Addresses in Venice just have a district and a number, so you can't look up the street address online unless you get that information from the hosts ahead of time. I strongly recommend using Google maps to guide you to the meeting spot from your arrival point. That said, once you've gotten your bearings, getting to and from the apartment is pretty straightforward. We expected rain, but were not prepared for flooding. The tide-driven acqua alta is apparently common in late fall and winter, but there was an occurrence during June on our first evening in the city. We watched Piazza San Marco slowly fill up, and the shopkeepers and other Venetians calmly pulled on knee-high rubber boots. Tourists went barefoot or ended up with soaked shoes, as many streets were underwater. When we got home, we found the apartment's lobby filled with 10 inches of water. (It smelled funky through the next day, but the smell did not reach the apartment.) So the clotheslines came in handy! We changed into flip-flops and headed out to eat. Bring boots or flip-flops and enjoy this...