Santa Rosa is a town of about 150,000 people and is nestled in the heart of Sonoma County. The town is situated about 65 miles north of San Francisco and about 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean.

http://www.visitsantarosa.com

Our house is situated near downtown in an area called the JC neighborhood, a reference to the Junior College nearby. It is an old neighborhood as things go in California. Our house being built in 1931, and the one next door in about 1875. Many of our neighbors have lived all their adult lives in their homes, making this a very friendly place to live. We think that this is the perfect spot from which to enjoy the Bay Area “as a local.” If you have inquired about our house to swap, then you are probably the same kind of travelers we are. You want the kind of down-to-earth experience that makes one more a traveler than a tourist.

The great master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock loved Sonoma County for its dramatic scenery and all-American feeling and made two films here. The Birds was filmed out at the coast in the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay. Shadow of a Doubt was filmed right here in Santa Rosa. You’ll find a DVD of each film in our little TV room.

Santa Rosa was the home of Luther Burbank, who first grew the famous Shasta Daisy and who was the originator of many food crops and horticultural favorites in American gardens. You can visit his home and garden at the corner of Sonoma Avenue and Santa Rosa Avenue.

Another favorite resident was Charles Schultz, who drew the Peamuts cartoon strip. There are many reminders around town in the form af statues of the various Peanuts characters. Also you may wish to visit the Charles Schultz museum on the west side of town. The ice skating rink that was a favorite of Schultz and his friends is situated adjacent next to the museum.

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County and therefore is the center of many activities. We are an agricultural community and our Fairgrounds hosts the County Fair and my personal favorite, the Sonoma County Harvest Fair which is the best wine tasting opportunity anywhere! Our farmers also produce apples (The Gravenstein is our local variety,) dairy products, poultry, walnuts, prunes and much more. We love to shop for our groceries at the Farmer’s Market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at the corner of Highway 12 and Brookwood St. (Brookwood is called North Street in our part of town and is right at the end of our block.

One of the great things about the Farmer’s Market is the fresh fish tent. The smoked salmon there is delicious! Ask them for a sample just to be sure it’s to your liking. They offer all varieties of local seafood there, and it doesn’t come much fresher! We also buy our breads and vegetables there when we can. Much of what’s sold at the market is organic.

For shopping, strolling and dining, there’s Fourth Street. It’s just a short walk from the house. In the summer, Fourth Street plays host to the Thursday Night Market, which would be the best chance to mingle with the local folks and at the same time have some fun with live music
and good food from the many food stalls.

Recently retired couple would love to travel to any European or North American city for short breaks or longer. We are: Victor, jazz musician/photographer and Dee, communications professional/painter. Neat, clean, respectful of your space, non-smokers, no pets. We have traveled extensively in Europe and have rented apartments in Paris before and have had several very successful exchanges, so we can provide references. We are now planning a trip to Washington, DC for the fall of 2013 with our daughter and her husband. We'd like good access to the Metro.