My lovely, comfortable guest room, for women, in my North Buffalo home awaits you! My home is 6 miles from downtown Buffalo, very close to the suburbs of Tonawanda & Amherst, & 16 miles from Niagara Falls, NY, USA. I only rent one room so you won't be disturbed by other guests or share a bathroom with other guests. If you'd like, we serve you breakfast (breakfast options listed below). Be prepared to provide proof of your FULL Covid-19 vaccination, including at least one booster. Thanks! Welcome! I and my partner Tom look forward to welcoming you as our guest. My home is very comfortable, clean, and well-cared for. Your pleasant, clean, and well-supplied guest room is tastefully decorated, and you'll sleep in a very comfortable four-poster antique bed. I take pride in providing a cozy, safe room for women travelers. NOTE - Both Tom and I have been fully vaccinated for Covie-19, and we have received three boosters. Before I can accept your booking, you will need to provide proof of your FULL Covid-19 vaccination, including at least one booster. Thanks! The guest room where you'll stay is 9' x 15' in size. It is furnished with a nice double bed with a good mattress and a "pillow topper" on the mattress, for additional comfort; two pillows (a standard pillow and a foam neck-support pillow); a comfortable upholstered chair for relaxing or reading; a bookshelf with a variety of books & magazines for your reading pleasure; a desk for your laptop, and a desk chair; and a full-length mirror. The bed has a down comforter for colder nights, a three-speed ceiling fan directly above the bed for summer nights, & room-darkening blinds on the windows. You'll also find a basket of shampoo, soap, hand lotion, etc., in case you forget something. The guest room is just a few steps down the hall from the main bathroom that you will share with Tom and me. There is a night light in the bathroom. I provide all bedding (clean sheets & blankets) and fresh towels. Be sure to sleep BETWEEN the two sheets, NEVER on top of the bedspread. I also provide white washcloths in case you need to remove make-up, acne products, or other facial products. (Do not use the large orchid guest towel or orchid washcloth for such products.) I can provide a luggage rack in your room so you won't need to put your suitcase on the floor. Because the bedroom walls were recently repaired and painted, please do not lean any items, including luggage and backpacks, against the walls. Free wireless wifi is available. There are two electrical outlets in the room, and a three-prong adapter to plug in your computer, if you need it. Note: Although my house is fully insulated, it is not air-conditioned. You will share the lovely second-floor bathroom, which was fully remodeled in 2017, with Tom and me. Please keep your showers to five minutes maximum because too much steam can crack the plaster walls. Please open the bathroom door very soon after your shower, to allow steam and moisture to dissipate. We also have a small half-bathroom on the first floor. Be aware that the guest room and main (full) bathroom with the shower are on the second floor of my house. There are five stairs from the entrance of my house to the first floor, and a full set of stairs (15 steps) from my first floor to the second floor. Normally, I will not enter your room while you are out. But I reserve the right to enter your room if you forget to turn off the lights; forget to turn off the ceiling fan; forget to close the windows in the event of rain; or open a window during heating season (September through May). We live in North Buffalo, at the edge of the city of Buffalo (6 miles from downtown Buffalo) & just three short blocks from the suburb of Tonawanda. My house is also within 2-4 miles of the suburbs of Kenmore, Snyder, and Amherst and just 16 miles from Niagara Falls, New York. Buffalo is a college town. My house is a 12-minute walk from the University at Buffalo (south campus) & within 3-5 miles of Buffalo State University, Canisius University, and Daemen University. My house is an ideal location if you're a visiting professor, attending a conference or event at a nearby college, or visiting someone attending one of our many colleges. My home is also a relaxing place for folks coming to town to spend time with elderly relatives. My house is 3/4 of a mile (about 1 km) from Buffalo's subway ("Metro") and a four-minute walk from the closest bus stop (at Kenmore & Montrose Avenues). I live about 7 miles from the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. For details about Buffalo's public transportation system, look for "Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority" ("NFTA") on-line. The cost is $2 for one ride on the bus or subway, $1 for senior citizens and people with disabilities, and $5 for an all-day pass. If you arrive by car, you will be able park on the street (free parking, including overnight). Parking in my driveway is not permitted. For an excellent overview of Buffalo, view the video "bestdesignedcity" online. My neighborhood offers an eclectic mix of city living. Within easy walking distance of my house are reasonably priced restaurants like Sato Ramen (Japanese), Vasili's (Greek), Yalley's (African), and Wendy's, as well as more upscale dining like Shango Wine Bar, featuring New Orleans food. An authentic restored 1950s diner, the Lake Effect Diner, is also in walking distance of my house (about 1 mile). My house is close to the extensive "Rails to Trails" bike path that starts in my neighborhood and extends through the suburbs of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda. If you arrive without a car, these places are also in walking distance of my house (1 mile or less): a large grocery store (Tops); 2 drugstores - Walgreen’s & CVS; several pizzerias; an African restaurant; a Greek restaurant; two Indian restaurants; the ever-popular Tim Horton’s coffee shop; the beautifully restored Parkside Candy (an old-fashioned soda fountain and candy shop); Buffalo Delights pastry and coffee shop; and a public library. I live less than a half-mile from the suburb of Tonawanda & my house is within 3 miles of many suburban conveniences, stores, & restaurants, including the Boulevard Mall. If you are coming to Buffalo for the New York State Law Board exam, our house is very quiet. You can walk to the subway (Metro) and get off just two blocks from the exam site, the Buffalo Convention Center. If you are coming to Western New York to visit Niagara Falls, be aware that I live in Buffalo, which is 16 miles from the city of Niagara Falls, New York. If you have a car, you drive to the Falls in about 25 minutes from my house. If you plan to take public transportation from my house to Niagara Falls, it takes at least 90 minutes by local bus, and buses run less frequently on the weekends. If you arrive by bus or train, please plan to arrive at the BUFFALO train station (on Exchange Street, in downtown Buffalo) or the BUFFALO bus station - NOT Niagara Falls. If you arrive by bus, get off at the bus station in downtown Buffalo, on Ellicott Street. Walk up to Main Street (just 2 short blocks) and take the Metro (subway) to my house. Exit at the last stop - University Station - which is 3/4 of a mile from my house. If you arrive after dark or in bad weather, I MAY be able to pick you up at University Station (the last stop on the subway) so you don't have to walk. Be aware that on Sundays & holidays, the Metro and bus schedules are more limited. My house is also 1 hour from the beautiful theater town of Niagara-on-the-Lake (in Ontario, Canada) & about 90 minutes from the vibrant city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Because I have been active in home-stay travel organizations for over 30 years, I've had considerable experience hosting guests in my home. I enjoy meeting travelers. Your guest room has a large basket of tourist information about Buffalo, Niagara Falls, & Western New York. You'll be surprised at how much there is to do and see in Western New York. I can also lend you a Buffalo-area street map, if you don't have a GPS. One of the biggest mistakes tourists make is coming only to see Niagara Falls. I invite you you to research Buffalo and stay an extra day or two so you can discover our beautiful architecture, tour homes designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, stroll our waterfront ("Canalside"), enjoy our excellent art museums, tour our historical sites, see top-notch live theater (Buffalo has about 20 live theater companies!), take some of the many fine guided walking tours, and enjoy our world-class Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. And here's another reason to visit Buffalo in the summer: there is at least one garden walk every weekend from late June through early August! Look at "Garden Walk Buffalo" (the largest garden walk in the US) and "Visit Buffalo Niagara" on the web. We can provide a breakfast. Please let us know, in advance, if you would like breakfast and what you would like. We will do our best to accommodate you, while taking care never to waste food. Coffee (regular and decaf) and tea are available upon request while you're our guest. If you book at least 72 hours in advance, we will try to accommodate any special food requests. Our home is absolutely LGBTQ-friendly. We honor and enjoy diversity. Note: I usually turn off my computer by 10:00 pm Eastern Time. Requests sent after 10:00 pm ET won't be responded to until the next day. The living room, the eating area, &, when weather permits, the back deck & front porch. Be aware that this is our home; it's not a hotel. If you arrive after 10:00 pm, kindly be very quiet when you arrive so you don't disturb my good neighbors. Please be aware that we don't allow guests in our home when we're not at home, and we don't give out house keys. When our calendar is open, that means one or both of us is planning to be home most (but possibly not all) of the time that day. When I respond to your initial message, I will let you know if I have other plans to be out during your stay. Also, once we lock the house for the night at 11:00 pm when we go to bed, guests won't be able to come and go (this is a private home, not a hotel where entrance doors may be unlocked around the clock). I once had a guest who suddenly decided to go out at 5:00 am but hadn't told me in advance. When she opened the door, she set off the alarm system. This startled her, woke me up and frightened me, and even woke my next-door neighbor who was concerned about my safety. We want to avoid that happening again. If you need to come in later than 11:00 pm, my house would not be a suitable accommodation for you. Also, as Airbnb regulations stipulate, only registered adult guests (over age 18) may enter my home. I'm sorry, but I am not able to accommodate service animals. We enjoy chatting with our guests and getting acquainted. We also like to travel so it can be interesting to share travel stories. But if you prefer quiet rather than interaction, just let us know. We're happy to respect your preference for quiet or minimal interaction. LAW BOARD EXAM CANDIDATES: If you're coming to Buffalo to take the Law Board exam, our house is very quiet. Your room has a nice desk and desk lamp if you wish to study, and we will not disturb you. Ask me about a price reduction if you re taking the law board exam. My North Buffalo neighborhood offers the best of both worlds - the character, diversity, & interest of city living and proximity to public transportation, yet very close driving distance to most suburban conveniences. Buffalo has some of the best, most eclectic food in the US - see "Buffalo: One of the Great Eating Cities" on YouTube! Also, check out great YouTube videos from "Visit Buffalo Niagara." Be sure to plan your stay to include time to visit to the spectacular renovation of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, which reopens June 2023. FUN FACTS ABOUT BUFFALO: - Buffalo is the second-largest city in New York State. - Buffalo’s park system was designed by landscaper architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York City’s Central Park. - The grain elevator was invented in Buffalo. - Actress Christine Baranski is from Buffalo, NY. - Aretha Franklin lived in Buffalo for a few years as a child, when her father was a pastor here. - Playwright A. R. Gurney was from Buffalo. - TV journalist Tim Russert was from Buffalo, NY. - President Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated in Buffalo. - Buffalo has the largest garden walk in the United States (the last weekend in July). - Actor Jesse Martin is from Buffalo. - Buffalo has the second-largest free Shakespeare in the Park festival in the US. - Singer Rick James was from Buffalo and is buried here. - President Millard Fillmore is also buried in Buffalo. - The air conditioner was invented in Buffalo. - Mark Twain lived in Buffalo for several years. - CNN correspondent Wolf Blitzer is from Buffalo. - Singer Ani DeFranco is from Buffalo. - Buffalo has the largest Dyngus Day celebration (the day after Easter) in the US. - Poet Lucille Clifton was from Buffalo. - The 1980 movie "Hide in Plain Sight" with James Caan was filmed in Buffalo. - The Turkey Trot, held on Thanksgiving morning, is the oldest continually running race in the US. - President William McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo. - Baseball great Warren Spahn was from Buffalo. - Buffalo dentist Alfred Southwick invented the electric chair. - Choreographer Michael Bennett was from Buffalo. - F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in Buffalo as a child. - The 1982 movie "Best Friends" with Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn was filmed in Buffalo. - Handcrafted Kittinger furniture was made in Buffalo. - The first day care center in the US was started in Buffalo. - Novelist Joyce Carol Oates was from Lockport, NY, just 20 miles from Buffalo. - The heart pacemaker was invented in Buffalo. - The 1984 movie "The Natural" with Robert Redford and Glenn Close was filmed in Buffalo. - Pulitzer-Prize winning Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles is from Buffalo. - General Mills cereals are made in Buffalo. You can often smell Cheerios on our waterfront! - Harold Arlen, composer of the musical score for "The Wizard of Oz," was from Buffalo. - The automatic windshield wiper was invented by Buffalonian John Roffo Oishei. - Novelist Taylor Caldwell was from Buffalo. - Buffalo’s magnet school program that implemented court-ordered desegregation was one of the first in the US. I live 3/4 of a mile from University Station, the last stop on the Metro (Buffalo's one-line subway). University Station a 12-15 minute walk from my house. My house is also a four-minute walk from the Kenmore Avenue bus (Bus #5). There is free on-street parking on my street, and you should be able to park close to my house. (Sorry, but guests are not permitted to park in my driveway.) Weekend breakfast is usually homemade pancakes or eggs, if you prefer - or both. Hot oatmeal & whole wheat toast are also options. If you'd like a hot breakfast on the weekend, please let us know what you'd like at least two days before you arrive, so we can be sure to have all the ingredients. We will do our best to accommodate allergies & food preferences. On weekdays, a light help-yourself breakfast of cereal, juice, fruit, and whole-wheat toast can be provided upon request. If you prefer to skip breakfast, please let me know in advance. And to avoid waste, if you would like breakfast, please request only what you are certain what can eat (you can always ask for "seconds"). Kindly do not spray perfume or hair spray in the guest room. It can seep into the carpet, window treatments, bedspread, pillows, and blankets, which can be a problem for future guests with allergies. Also, the guest room contains antique furniture that can be quickly damaged by hair spray and perfume. Thank you for your consideration. Absolutely no smoking (including marijuana) and no vaping anywhere on the property. This includes inside my house, the front porch, the back deck, the driveway, and the front and back yard. If you violate this house rule, I will ask you to leave before your stay has concluded and you will forfeit what you paid for the remainder of your stay.