I had a studio in this neighborhood for 3 years. Just take your camera and spend a couple hours walking around admiring the colors and people and odd shops. 

Nicely curated vintage store for Levi's and interesting pieces.

The Day of Death is one of the most amazing experience you can get from a city like LA. Every year, during the week-end of Halloween, the Hollywood Cemetery becames the stage of the most candid and beautiful celebration of life and death I ever seen.

If you love karaoke like I do, there's a ton of spots to check out in LA, but none quite as charming (or David Lynch-y) as Melody Lounge. Be forewarned, this spot is intermittently open. You'll know they're ready for business if they plant a sandwich board outside offering cold sandwiches and cheap beer. Hopefully, you'll get a chance to meet the owner Willie, whose (possibly embellished) life stories rival Hemingway. As for the song selection, the campy MIDI versions and painfully less than accurate lyric translations can suddenly turn your favorite tunes into high-wire acts (i.e. "Leaving On A Jet Plane" magically transforms into "Libyan on A Jet Plane"). Hell, they even have a song called "Schindler's List" on the menu! Even if you don't sing, Willie or his wife will gleefully take the stage. Special tip: for a true Chinatown boner, request Willie sing Enrique Iglesias' "Bailamos."

For everything. Favorite place in LA.