DO NOT skip downtown. Downtown LA used to be a place to avoid. Many people still do. Don't be one of them. There is a nice Little Tokyo area with, of course, numerous Japanese restaurants. If you are a photographer, the light playing off the downtown skyscrapers is awesome and, naturally, who can resist the quirky curves of the new Disney Concert Hall? But one of the hidden gems is the Ambassador Hotel. It lives again in all its former splendor and a stroll down its hushed hallways reveals a host of photographs ducomenting that this was once the venue for the Oscars. You will have fun poring over the full-room photographs jam-packed with celebrities. Who made up that seating chart? A logistics nightmare, for sure! The restaurant is pricey but breakfast there is a special treat and won't bust your budget completely.

Ok, Hollywood is not what you think it is. It's nice on the surface, but lurking closely beneath is a cesspool of crime drugs and violence. The sites are cool and the Walk of fame is entertaining and I have had a lot of fun on the sunset strip, but it's not called Hollyweird for no reason.