Native New Yorkers Eileen and Bruce love to welcome guests to their comfortable condominium in one of the hottest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, just off of Smith Street, New York's newest "restaurant row." Visitors will enjoy a sunny private room, with a terrace and a full private bathroom. The room includes a firm, new, full-sized bed, ample closet and drawer space, television, air-conditioner, and a bookcase loaded with art books, paperback novels, and local-interest histories and travel guides for guests to peruse. There is also a sofa in the room, which can convert into a full-size bed, and a portable crib or inflatable bed is available for babies and young children. The apartment has its own laundry facility. Breakfast can be taken at the large cobalt-blue tiled counter in their gourmet kitchen, which is the centerpiece of the apartment. Or, guests can choose to take their meal out onto the terrace to enjoy the cool morning air and contemplate their day of sightseeing. Eileen and Bruce would be happy to help with these plans. Breakfast will normally include coffee and a variety of teas, juice, fresh fruit, cereals, homemade muffins or breads with fruit preserves, or perhaps some bagels or croissant from local bakeries. On weekends and during the summer, Bruce and Eileen will gladly prepare a hot "American-style" breakfast as well. Visitors are requested to remove their shoes at the door and may want to bring slippers or "indoor" shoes for added comfort.
A major subway line to Manhattan is just two blocks away. Visitors can get to lower Manhattan in five minutes by train, and Greenwich Village in under 15 minutes. Cab fares to Manhattan are quite reasonable. Indeed, a walk of only 20 minutes will take you into Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge, with its breathtaking views. But guests will probably want to set aside some time to explore the local environs. One could easily spend a month eating out in the Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill area and never get bored, for here are fine French, Spanish, Brazilian, Asian, Italian, Middle Eastern and Japanese restaurants. And that's not to mention the variety visitors can find if they spread out a little and explore nearby Brooklyn neighborhoods, which display an incredible breadth of ethnic diversity. In addition to a multitude of creative chef-owned restaurants, this neighborhood has also attracted a number of "hip" boutiques, bars and cafes which bring floods of visitors in from Manhattan to take advantage of Brooklyn's lower prices. The home is also one block away from a neighborhood cinema house, ten minutes walk to a new "multiplex" movie theater, and convenient by foot, bus or train to several Brooklyn cultural attractions, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Prospect Park, Botanical Gardens, the Brooklyn Historical Society and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Bruce teaches history, economics and government at Brooklyn Tech, one of New York's top public high schools. Eileen works as an adjunct librarian at John Jay College (CUNY) a couple of nights a week, but spends most of her time as a freelance indexer for Harper's Magazine, working out of her home office. They both have their academic backgrounds in history and enjoy sharing their knowledge of New York history with visitors. They enjoy cooking, travel, art, blues, and Shakespearean theater. Eileen also loves 19th-century English literature and would pursue a hobby in genealogy if she ever gets the time. Bruce also enjoys sports and fitness and is the biggest Yankee fan you'll ever meet. Their two-and-a-half year old daughter, Sydney, loves meeting new people, playing, dancing, coloring, and traveling. She has been to Italy, Ireland, England, California, and at least 20 other states in the U.S. They are all excited to exchange ideas and travel experiences and to hear the news from their guests' home countries and towns. Having been on the receiving-end of many wonderful B&B and homestay experiences around the world, Bruce and Eileen are eager to show some of the same great hospitality to their fellow globetrotters.
