I'd always deliberately avoided Beverly Hills during my previous visits to L.A. I assumed the place was boring and pretentious. When I finally did visit B.H., two things about it surprised me. The first was how many other low rent tourists---people just like me---were already there. The sidewalks overflowed with gawkers. Not all of them were working stiffs, like me, but enough of them were dressed in mass merchandise shorts and t-shirts that I didn't feel out of place. (With all the proletarians roaming about, I doubt if there was a star within a mile of Rodeo Dr. that afternoon.) The other surprise was how much I liked the place. Downtown B.H. is a very walkable neighborhood. There are interesting sights, the streets are pedestrian-friendly, traffic is tolerable and the area is clean.