I'll be exploring Venice 9/29-10/2 for a few days before moving on to Tuscany. Any suggestions for a single person?
I want to see as much of the islands as possible and enjoy good food. Also any suggestions for a cooking class?
I'd suggest to wait until you get to Tuscany/Florence for a cooking class.
In Venice, we stayed at a fantastic B&B in October in Venice = Campiello Zen (check it out on TripAdvisor and on their website) - it was fantastic. Very close to the Vaporetto stop, so very easy to get around. The owners were so incredibly helpful - they gave us a map and taught us how to use the Vaporetto. It is very close to one of the best restaurants we ate at during our entire 3 weeks in Italy = La Zucca - check it out on TripAdvisor - you must have reservations - the owners of the B&B made the RSVP for us about SIX weeks before we arrived.
Locanda La Corte or Ca'Angeli. Affordable, safe, good breakfast.
Everywhere is pretty good in Venice. That time of year, I'd make sure I had AC.