We offer you a warm welcome to our home! We live in a beautiful, large 2 bedroom, 2 bath 1400 sq. ft. condo on the top floor of a four story building with an elevator. We are centrally located in a quiet and safe neighborhood. We know you'll love staying here!

The master bedroom has a Sealy Posturepedic pillow top California king bed. The second bedroom has a Sealy Lombard Support queen bed. There is a sofa that converts to a queen bed along with a twin futon. Both bedrooms are ensuite with dual-shower heads. The kitchen is remodeled and has all new appliances! The living room has a 60" Flat Screen LCD HD TV with blu-ray player and surround sound. (My husband couldn't be happier!) Everything is here: washer/dryer, central air conditioning and heating, dishwasher, high speed internet, WiFi, TV's, Stereo, DVD's, games, piano, etc. The rec. room downstairs has a gym with full work out equipment and free weights. Our private balcony extends 40 ft. and has a patio table for dining, a gas BBQ and a hot tub for enjoying the pleasant southern California weather. We look out over the treetops of a residential neighborhood with a lovely park within a five minute walk.

The exchange could also include a luxury Toyota Avalon sedan or an Infiniti SUV. We have bikes, boogie boards, wetsuits, coolers, beach towels and lots of camping equipment available for your use.

We have a beautiful golden retriever who comes with our home free of charge when not traveling with us! Phoebe is 7 years old and she works with me as a therapy dog visiting patients in a local hospital and participating in a reading program at the library. (Yes, she's smart but the kids read to her.) We prefer to exchange with families who are willing to care for our dog with love and we will do the same for your pets. We can arrange for a dog walker to handle late afternoon feeding and walks so it won't interrupt your day.

If you have any questions, please write!

NOTE: Even if we don't make an exchange, please feel free to ask advice. Don't believe everything you read about locations and distances in L.A. I was born and raised here and am happy to help.

We live in the charming and safe Valley Village area near the NoHo Arts District and Studio City. (The pin drop is off target.). We are mostly within about 30 minutes by car of everything! For example:


Shopping and restaurants - 2 min.
Local hiking and mountain biking - 6 min.
Warner Brothers and Universal Studios - 8 min.
Hollywood's Walk of Fame, Hollywood Bowl and Chinese Theater - 12 min.
Griffith Park and L.A. Zoo - 15 min.
Downtown L.A. Theaters & Museums (Ahmanson, Disney Concert Hall, Mark Taper Forum, Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, MOMA, etc.) - 20 min.
L.A. County Museum of Art - 20 min.
UCLA and Getty Center - 20 min.
Descanso Gardens -- 20 min.
Huntington Library and Gardens -- 25 minutes
6 Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor Water Park - 25 min.
Santa Monica and Venice Beaches - 30 min
Disneyland - 45 min
Malibu and Zuma Beaches - 45 min

Everything always depends on traffic in L.A. We are also a fifteen minute walk or five minute drive to the Metro and there's a bus stop outside our door.

Within 1 1/2 to 3 hours are Santa Barbara, Los Olivos Vineyards, San Diego, Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear Ski Resort and Palm Springs. We love our central location! Fabulous restaurants with every kind of ethnic cuisine you can imagine and great shopping surround us. We are an easy walk to the NoHo arts district with lots of small avant garde theaters, galleries and top dance studios.

We are easy to find as our security building faces a main street, but our unit is at the back where it's quiet and overlooks a pleasant neighborhood with beautiful trees. It is very safe for long evening walks. The park nearby has wonderful play equipment for the kids and lots of room for the dog to run. We are freeway adjacent which connects us to all parts of the city. Ventura Blvd. (5 minute drive) is known for great restaurants and shops. There are markets, malls, theaters, a farmer's market, bowling and mini-golf nearby. We live next to mountains where you can go hiking and mountain biking. We're also near the Hollywood Bowl, Griffith Park & the L.A. Zoo and most of the major studios. Concerts, plays, museums, walking, boogie boarding or rollerblading at the beach, bookstores, cafes, it's all here!

For our guests, we have the Lonely Planet Los Angeles City Guidebook available for your use as well as tons of pamphlets for citywide activities and LA Magazine. There is a notebook of home information, local restaurants and markets, and sight seeing tips with some of L.A.'s hidden treasures.

Our home in L.A. is located in Valley Village, nestled between North Hollywood and Studio City in a central and safe neighborhood, mostly within 30 minutes of all L.A. has to offer. We have saved time with the following listings that we may be able to negotiate for you to use upon owner agreement: Berkeley, CA., Newfoundland, Canada, England, Italy, Switzerland and Australia. (See notes with listing numbers.) Weekend exchange and last minute offers welcome

*Berkeley, Calif.: 53803 -- 5 nights
*London, England: 64623 -- 10 nights
*Swiss Alps (near Bern/Zurich): 89943 -- 7 nights
*Swiss Alps (Near Lausanne): 93480 -- 10 nights
*Sydney, Australia: 106632 --- 7 nights

The following are no longer listed with HomeExchange.com but will honor our banked time if possible. Photos can be made available:

*St, John's, Newfoundland, Canada -- 8 nights (One bedroom, sleeps 4)
*Verona, Italy -- 6 nights (2 bedrooms, sleeps 3)

We have loads of insider suggestions and information about anything you want from places to eat to driving instructions to the best places to shop or hike. We have lots of family and friends close by who can help you out. We are VERY respectful of our hosts' homes and have been completely happy with our experiences in having guests stay in our home who often turn into friends.

If an exchange is not preferable to us, we do rent our home for discounted rates to home exchangers.

If we can't exchange at your desired time, we are happy to offer hospitality if our guest suite is available. We are open to every possibility: simultaneous, non-simultaneous, hospitality, three-way exchanges or use of our saved time elsewhere. We also rent out our guest suite and whole condo. Let's think outside the box!

Abierto a cualquier fecha

Due to family health issues, we are staying close to home for now but maybe you could tempt us! We may be able to offer you hospitality or rental of our guest suite.

We will consider anywhere and will answer any inquiry -- the World is our Oyster!

Our family consists of Hector, Elyse and Victoria & Phoebe, our golden retriever who works as a therapy dog. After working for 20 years as a bilingual teacher in the inner city, I (Elyse) have retired. I create all kinds of art -- you'll see it right on the walls as our home is completely (and tastefully) faux painted. I volunteer at a local hospital and library with Phoebe, and love to play mah jongg, read, write, hike and, of course, travel. My newest artistic endeavor is hand decorated sugar cookies. My husband, Hector, is a semi-retired environmental engineer doing permitting for renewable energy plants (wind and solar). He is an avid hiker and mountain biker. Our daughter Victoria, 23, graduated three years ago from UCLA with a degree in Environmental Studies and Geography. She works for the South Lake Tahoe Conservancy and travels with us only occasionally these days. We are all adventurous and enjoy river rafting, paragliding and jet boating. We might like to travel with another couple.

We are world travelers, having visited 34 countries on 6 continents. We have a non-smoking home but you may smoke on the balcony. We are all responsible and respectful. We will take excellent care of your home, as we know you will of ours. We enjoy offering hospitality and will happily give you a place to stay if we can, in exchange for banked time or hospitality later. We have made over 40 successful exchanges.

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