Everything about staying with Jane was lovely and comfortable. The Airbnb photos suggest how attractive the space is, full of light and color and paintings, but the photos and her descriptions of the space and the arrangements don't do it justice. I walked a lot, and I saw wonderful houses and gardens (my favorite thing) and I had great food, but I think what ultimately made this time so restorative was being in this place.
The shared bathroom looks like something from a magazine, and I did not find it
inconvenient to get to--from the bedroom, it is half a flight down to the balcony; then a turn, and a few more stairs to the bathroom. If you step out onto the balcony, you see not just the green of the Heath, but all the wonderful gardens down below you. The nineteenth century houses that are on the inner side of the loop you see on the map have back gardens that have walls and fences, but there are so many vines that they don't look separate. Unusual trees, plants I couldn't name, parrots, people puttering around with watering cans-- I liked to just sit.
Jane was generous in every way, and I was at ease very quickly. Good coffee, tea, muesli and bread for toast was right there for a make it yourself breakfast. Jane did things I never expect of anyone: for one, she made sure I did not run out of milk; for another she did not let me take care of my own dishes. We assumed that we each wanted our privacy (she was working, I was on vacation) but still we had interesting conversations about what I'd seen (I had taken a photo of a map showing dozens of places where the Heath was bombed in WWII, for instance). She was a pleasure to talk to, and I am planning to come back.