Fryman Canyon - My favorite local hike If you're looking for a great workout with beautiful vistas that is a less crowded and overdone hike, Fryman Canyon in Studio City is an amazing option.

The end of the 3 mile trail drops you in the middle of a residential neighborhood, so you get a chance to check out the gorgeous neighborhood.

In fact, George Clooney is known to live in the area, and you'll walk past the house that was used as the facade in Keeping up with the Kardashian's.

Be sure to put on your sneakers, bring some water, and prepare for some good physical exercise. But the views of the San Fernando Valley and mountains are absolutely worth it - you'll hardly believe you're still right in Los Angeles!

Once you've finished your hike, I'd recommend driving up Laurel Canyon back toward the city and turning right onto Mulholland Drive. This is a very famous, windy road that stretches about 20 miles through the Santa Monica mountains. It has wonderful views and many points where you can pull your car over to stop, stretch your legs, and take pictures.

Once you drive down Mulholland for some time, you can choose to take Coldwater Canyon or Beverly Glen back down toward the city - they will let you drive right down into Beverly Hills or Westwood Village, which are fun neighborhoods to wander around in!

Geffen Contemporary - MOCA For some reason, Los Angeles has 3 Museum Of Contemporary Arts in different places. One has its own specialties and designs.

The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is located just north of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Founded in 1979, MOCA at the Geffen as locals call it, is the biggest Contemporary Arts Museum of the three. It houses larger pieces of art as well as a collection of cultural and historical importance of Los Angeles.

Art Talks and Lectures are held on Thursday nights at 18:30 and Sunday afternoons at 15:00. I am usually at the special events when it's free.

What's cool about MOCA are the special events. They have live DJs during the summer in front of the courtyard and a free tour of the museum. Exhibitions touch on historical art of Los Angeles ranging from our troubled past to contemporary issues.

My favorite time at the Geffen MOCA is for the LEVI Workshops in art of movie making. I had a chance to shoot 8mm and super 8mm camera, I didn't even know they still exist! Another workshop showed participants in how to make 3D stop motion movies. I hope they have this workshop every summer!

As part of the LA museums, MOCA participates in an art walk and free exhibitions along with other museums. Imagine going on the bus that connects to every museum.

Gelato Bar - Heavenly artisan gelato I've traveled to Italy, the mecca of gelato, yet I can honestly say that some of the best gelato you can find will be here in Los Angeles. Gelato Bar is one of my favorite coffee shops and my favorite place to have gelato. It's just simply sublime, I just haven't found a better tasting chocolate or pistachio artisan gelato anywhere else.

Their gelato is made fresh in small batches every day and you can taste the freshness and the natural ingredients used to make it. If you go to Gelato Bar, you'll not only experience their heavenly gelato but their coffee is also great; and if I may add, the location and the cozy feeling of the establishment will make you want to stay all day with your laptop or with your favorite work of fiction.

It's located in Toluca Lake/Studio City area, on Tujunga Ave, where you'll find a lot of quaint stores and restaurants. One of my favorite places in LA!

Genwa Korean BBQ - ...Like a child in a meat shop Terraces of neighbouring BBQ restaurants suffuse Koreatown with ubiquitous ebullience: one restaurant's meaty redolence melds with next doors syncopated sugary pop beats. Laughter spreads like contagions from one table to the next whilst clinking soju bottles inject a little funk to a food ensemble.

Genwa could therefore be perceived as a potential pariah. Situated under an apartment block on a quiet part of mid-Wilshire it doesn't ooze the exhilarations others up the road do, so when a bambi-eyed blonde hostess with a dancer's physique parked us at a corner of the restaurant next to a trio of women drinking wine and poking their bibimbap with sad chopsticks my heart sank: not the authentic BBQ experience I was used to or wanted my visiting friend to experience.

But this restaurant isn't known for its cacophonous atmosphere, it is known for its food. Quality and well-seasoned hunks of affordable marinated meat. That, and its 25 refillable savory pick n' mix appetizers: Acorn jelly and gelatinous squid to name tamer concoctions. Bubbling egg souffl and yam noodles bookmarked the nucleus of hissing Bugolobi and melt-in-the-mouth Prime Galbi and mini-urns of purple rice absorbed the homemade miso sauce dripping out of my badly rolled D.I.Y radish paper wrap. A final exhale, a sip of ginger tea and the unbuttoning of my jeans signaled the end of the feast. Genwa has an extremely good ventilation system, which means although sitting in a meat sauna, you don't emit bovine aromas that would usually cloud the rest of your evening.

Getty Center - Museum time! One of my favorite places to disconnect from the sometimes-chaotic city life is the Ghetty Center. It's hard to believe that such a place exists in this city of angels, but since it does, we have to take advantage of it!

The Ghetty Center has an endless collection of all types of art; they have amazing ongoing exhibitions that are free to the public! I could spend hours walking around the monstrous white beautiful structure that this museum is: an architectural marvel.

The museum is surrounded by beautiful gardens, and did I say that it's located on a mountain? So imagine the breath taking views that you enjoy! You can see the ocean or even Downtown! This past weekend I went back to take some family that came from out of town and they were fascinated with it. We spent a couple of hours just enjoying the sun, the calmness, the beautiful views, and of course the art.

Griffith Observatory - Amazing views Feeling like a rebel without a cause? Then let's emulate Hollywood legend James Dean and go to the Griffith Observatory! It is one of my one of my favorite places in our city of angels. Not just because of its beautiful structure and location that will leave you breathless with the impressively gorgeous views, but also due to its history as one of the most important landmarks in Los Angeles.

Being part of the LA skyline since 1934, the Griffith Observatory is a place you can't afford not to visit if you really want to feel and see what this city is all about. I love to go there day or night; it's beautiful at any time of the day. I love to see the all the interesting and cool exhibitions and of course learn more about astronomy and science.

But it's also a beautiful place just to relax and enjoy the gorgeous views of the city. You can see Downtown, the Pacific Ocean, and of course the Hollywood sign. Also, it's quite a romantic place...so if you are thinking of going on a date I would most definitely recommend taking your loved one to the Griffith Observatory.

Griffith Park Old Zoo - LA's hidden zoo There's a hidden zoo behind the famous Los Angeles Zoo. I did not find it until recently. It looks scary, old, and full of animal ghosts!

The Griffith Park Zoo was built in 1912 and closed in 1966 when the animals were transferred to its current location. Behind a long hiking trail, this zoo housed only 15 animals in the beginning. You can see caves, bars, and other enclosures typical of treatment of animals in zoos at the turn of the century. The spookiness of the zoo draws adventurers to explore all the enclosures. Watch out for ghosts of lions.

One of the best thing about the old Zoo is its hidden nature. Most people do not know there is another zoo. The zoo is not well marked and need some directions from locals.

Events at the zoo include the Shakespeare in the Park during summer times. The Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC) performs at the old Zoo during the summer.

This summer is: Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew

Watch for Ghosts of Shakespeare and Zoo animals beware!

Guerrilla Tacos - Gourmet tacos guerrilla style You do not have to go to a fancy restaurant to get the best tacos in town.

The best gourmet tacos are made guerrilla style by Chef Wes Avila. On his food truck, he serves his delicious creations right outside of Blacktop Coffee in the Art's District and also in front of Cognoscenti Coffee in Culver City.

These tacos are out of this world delicious and are not necessarily what we know as traditional style tacos, they are more so his own interpretation and a new creation of Mexican modern fusion. This truly redefines Mexican food all together. The spices are well balanced and all ingredients are carefully and locally sourced and always fresh. His salsas and chiles are hand made. The menu changes all the time, so you never know what kind of delicious surprise will be waiting for you on the day you go there, unless you check the daily menu posted on their FB site.

Definitely try the veggie tacos, I had all kinds of different variations; the one with artichoke was my favorite so far. If he happens to sell seafood tostadas, then you will be in for a real treat. There are always tasty meat choices as well: pork, beef, chicken and sometimes even lamb, which is my personal favorite.

You can find Guerrilla Tacos 4 times a week at the Blacktop Coffee location and 1 time per week in Culver City. Check the website for detailed info on times, days and addresses as they might change.

Hammer Museum - Lectures at the Museum One of the best lecture halls in Los Angeles, the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Culture Center of UCLA, or the Hammer Museum, is a cultural hub in Westwood. Operated by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the museum hosts various cultural talks as well as influential and political art exhibits of the city.

Built in 1990, the Hammer Museum was founded by Armand Hammer, a wealthy oil CEO who loved art. He donated most of his collection to the permanent collection at the museum. The museum includes a collection of Impressionist art as well as Contemporary art.

Programs and free public events such as lectures, readings, films, and musical performances occur at the museum's Billy Wilder Theater. Check the museum website for current shows and lectures. There are summer jazz and music events at the Hammer.

The best exhibit I have attended was the art exhibit about the African-American experience. The museum often offer art that has political and humanistic statement.

For those Star Trek fans, Lenard Nimoy gave a talk about his new adventures in art called Secret Selves where art lovers and science fiction fans got to ask him questions about his post-acting career. The new Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) interviewed the old Mr. Spock.

Museum admission is FREE on Thursdays. Come for free talks and exhibits.

The Museum is open every day, except Mondays, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Check the calendar for the latest exhibitions. There are free tours daily.

Handsome Coffee Roasters - For coffee lovers! This is the place for all of you coffee lovers out there, who come to LA.

Handsome Coffee Roasters is a hipster gourmet coffee place right in the Art's District of LA, in between industrial buildings, warehouses, fancy lofts and art studios.

The options and choices they offer are little, but absolutely delicate. They have two choices of coffee with different roasts, as they describe them C for "Comfort" and A for "Adventure", and also a choice of Espresso.

The staff is absolutely nice and they are all very knowledgeable baristas. The place feels open, with floor to ceiling windows and the interior is sleek and minimalistic with high communal tables and stools. While ordering your coffee you can see through a big window the big roaster and all the machinery in the back room, which makes this a very authentic experience.

But be aware, this is an absolute purist coffee place. That means, they serve simple coffee and espresso only, no tea and no fancy aroma coffees with whip cream etc, also only whole milk, no fancy sweeteners or any sugar.

All in all this is my favorite place to meet with friends, have business meetings and sip on some delicious coffee.