I love living in a city where I can easily go hiking during the day and be home by dark. Griffith is just massive and untamed, it has a wild feel about it in places. Views of LA, the ocean, and the Hollywood sign.

Authentic southern Italian thin-crust pizzas. My favorite is the scrumptious Santo Stefano.

It's a cemetery, but the view from up here is stunning and you can see one of the most large scale epic paintings ever made by a human: The Crucifixion painting, by Polish artist Jan Styka. It's a must see. 

The Magic Castle is a nightclub for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It bills itself as "the most unusual private club in the world." A typical evening features several close up magic and stage illusions. Formal dress is strictly enforced and you must either be a member or be invited by a magician. The lobby of the Castle has no visible doors to the interior, and visitors must say a secret phrase to a sculpture of an owl to gain access, exposing the entrance to the club. What I enjoy most is walking through the corridors and staring at the posters and photographs of the history of magic.

If you really want to feel in a hollywood movie, go visit the river. Forget hollywood. To get the full experience go to this spot. You have to access through a dark, damp tunnel, and when you emerge …there it is, from Grease to Going 60 seconds, to Transformer and Drive. You are immediately transported to a high speed chase or and action movie scene. Nothing beats an Isolated piece of infrastructure.