We owe a one-bedroom + den condo in Cleveland Park which is a fabulous neighborhood in Washington DC itself -- not the suburbs. This is a northwest neighborhood with many beautiful historic homes and embassies. Our place just a few blocks from two metro stops within easy walking distance so you can get anywhere in DC very quickly as DC proper is actually rather small. We are on the northwest side of town, near American University and an easy commute to Georgetown University.
The condo is 865 square feet and on the second floor, and has a kitchen, breakfast room, living room, den, bedroom, entryway, and bathroom. There is cable TV and full high speed internet access. We also have a gym and laundry facilities on site. We have two bicycles for use as well. The building is from the 1930s but was renovated in 2001 so all appliance etc are new (dishwasher, microwave, range/oven, fridge, garbage disposal). It has some lovely features, curved doorway, french doors, hard wood floors, marble floor in the bath, oriental carpets, tall ceilings (for the States) and lots of sunshine in the front rooms with the large master bedroom in the back which is nice and quiet.
We live down the street from many wonderful amenities:
• the National Zoo with our very own pandas
• a fabulous old fashioned movie theatre with a balcony
• two supermarkets and one organic market plus a farmer's market twice a week
• loads of international restaurants, wine bars, and a even a billard hall
• Hillwood House Museum (http://dc.about.com/od/historichomes/a/Hillwood.htm)
• a library
• banks
• hair salons
• dry cleaner
• antique shop
• Italian deli
• fabulous wine and cheese shop
• and best of all, Rock Creek Park is at the bottom of the hill so you are moments from the largest park in DC with walking and biking trails galore.
Washington has many marvelous museums (all the Smithsonian museums are free!), theatres, and cultural venues -- it's a small enough place to get around easily without a car, yet never be bored. In late March, early April the National Cherry Blossom Festival celebration happens too (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cherry_Blossom_Festival).
We are looking to do a house swap for 2-3 weeks sometime in March and April of 2009.
We would like a 2 bedroom property in the Cambridge area. The house must have high speed internet access. If you have any pets we would be happy to take care of them. We have a mellow friendly cat, Hedley, who sleeps mostly, and we would ideally like to leave in the apartment.