Paula is an unusually warm and generous host. She was called out of town a few days before my arrival but arrsnged to meet me and thenallowed me stay in the apartment in her absence. The room is just as pictured and very pretty. The bed is one of the most comfortable I've ever slept in and is covered in good quality sheets and the plushest, coziest comforters ever. The room is at the opposite end of the apartment from Paula's space so there is pretty good privacy. Paula provided gourmet coffee, all kinds of Meyer soaps, even a pretty flower arrangement for the room. Her apartment is just 2 blocks from Lake Merritt and a few blocks from busses and BART to San Francisco and Berkeley. There is a very good health food store right across the street - it's bigger than it looks - and lots of restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance. Or catch the #26 bus at the corner to the other end of Lake Merritt where there are restaurants of every type, the wonderful employee owned Arizmendi Bakery, and Trader Joes, the best supermarket in the whole world. Oakland is a wonderful place to stay and much more affordable than SF.