Our quiet and informal flat has a stunning view of San Francisco Bay, and is just a 15-minute drive from San Francisco. Our living room and dining room have 10-foot ceilings, lots of windows, WiFi, and a 42" flat-screen cable TV/DVD. We have two bedrooms--one of which has a very comfortable queen-size bed with down comforter, and the other is used as an office. The kitchen has all the modern amenities, including a large refrigerator, microwave oven, and ice cube maker, and we have a clothes washer/dryer. The deck has an easy-to-use gas barbeque, cast-iron dining table and chairs, and planter garden. Neighbors are quiet, and expect the same from each other's guests. At least as important as the inside of our home is the surrounding area with its small town feel, hiking and outdoor activities such as sailing, kayaking, scuba diving, golf, and tennis, yet close to San Francisco (a 30-minute ferry ride away), Berkeley, Napa Valley, Silicone Valley, Angel Island, and the best Northern California has to offer. Summer weather here is consistently rain-free, with mild temperatures ranging from the 60s to the lower 80s.

Our Marin County home is located overlooking the picturesque town of Sausalito (population 7,300), with its magnificent views of the San Francisco Bay, a large houseboat/sailing community, and several live-music venues along Sausalito's historic high street are just a few minutes walk from here, with many good restaurants, a 3-screen movie theater, a good grocery store, and many shops. The Golden Gate Bridge is 7 minutes by car, and a 5-minute walk will take you to ferries which go frequently to San Francisco, Angel Island, and sightseeing around the bay. You'll have access to a good public library system, where books & DVDs can be checked-out free, and a great indoor pool/workout facility is a 12-minute drive. Cronkite Beach is a 15-minute drive, Mt. Tam State Park, with its many beautiful trails is also nearby, along with walking and biking paths by the bay a few minutes from here by foot. Elsewhere, Yosemite National Park is 3.5 hours, Santa Cruz and the Monterey Aquarium are less than 2 hours, Napa Valley is 45 minutes, Berkeley is 25 minutes, Los Angeles is 7 hours by car, Point Reyes National Seashore is about an hour, and Oregon is 5 hours north.

We will do everything possible to help you arrive oriented and ready to enjoy the Bay Area, and will take the same excellent care of your home as we will want you to do with ours. And we can help you find those places that visitors often miss. We do ask that there be absolutely no smoking inside our home and ask that you water a few plants.

For a map and further description of the area, please visit these web sites. (Please note that an extra space has been added by HomeExchange after the colons, question marks, periods, and commas, which you will need to delete to pull up the web site. )

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=ll
http: //maps. google. com/maps? oi=map&q=Tiburon, CA
http: //www. familytravelguides. com/articles/pacificstates/San_Francisco/tiburon. html

May to October are our favorite travel times. But, especially with tropical climates, we will consider any seasons.

We would like to exchange our home with a responsible couple in London's West End for 3-6 weeks during May, June, and July, 2013. We would also consider a similar trade in larger cities in Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, as well as Australia or New Zealand. If you live somewhere beautiful and interesting that we haven't listed, please feel free to contact us as well. We are also open to exchanging for your RV or power boat in Europe and Britain, especially in the Mediterranean, Baltic, and canals.

We are professionals who really enjoy the "great outdoors." Vibeke does marketing and I write about the history of the English language. During our eight previous exchanges, we have prepared and updated a "house book" with just about everything needed to understand our home, as well as many books and pamphlets of local attractions, along with our recommendations. It's important to us that the people who stay in our home have a great time too.

English