hi namaka,

let me have my go at answering your qs - and apolgies of I repeat info given by others:

1.don't use your pass for the bus - the ATVO [blue] bus is €3, and the ACTV bus even less, and a single vaporetto ticket is €6.50.

2. you can reserve a time slot fo the basilica - but you may also want to reserve places on the secret itineraires tour round the Doge's palace - www.museiicivici.it. it is well worth it.

3.don't bother with the glass blowing - it's pretty boring. instead go to Burano and then Torcello on the boats. they are both lovely. a trip to them both and lunch on either will take you most of a day.

4. & 5. see above.

6, 7, & 8. see above.

9. to find grocery [or other] shops, find your apartment on google maps. then ask it to find supermarkets, delicatessens, etc. but you are not likely to find anything much open in Venice at that time of night. can you ask the owner to provide you with basics til you can go shopping?

10. I am worried that you want $ out of an ATM in Italy. you will get €. would you consider taking what you need to pay for your apartment with you? - your bank can supply them. then use the ATMs for spending money as you go along, as pay for big stuff on credit cards.

have a great trip,

regards, ann

Another point about getting enough Euros from the ATM to pay for your rental...we had to do the same thing for a rental in Rome, and we elected to do what we never do, and that is to change dollars for Euros here at home, and take it with us (in a money belt, of course). It turned out that the exchange rate was reasonably good when we exchanged the money here, and it would have been worse if we had waited until arrival. Hard to project, of course, but just wanted to share our experience.