I loved spending several days at Louise's idyllic flowerfilled compound. Everything was as described, and I enjoyed the outside shower, even though the weather was colder than usual for the area. And the cat was just adorable!
The compound is close to the train station and with bus 72 from San Pablo you go straight to the middle of Oakland. Highly recommended are the Oakland Museum of California (especially on Friday nights when all the food trucks are there!) and the ferry from Jack London Square to San Francisco and then to Sauselito. But Berkeley and San Francisco are also close by and both definitely worth a visit as well.
Louise is just great. And even more than her hospitality and all the little things like some fruit and coffee in the morning, I enjoyed talking to her, both about the local stuff as about the broader issues. I can highly recommend staying at her compound.
Thank you so much, Louise. Hope to see you in The Netherlands some day!