I Wasn't Prepared for That! (spoilers follow, lol) When I booked at Jame's place, some of the photos on his airbnb listing showed that he had some artwork in some of his rooms, but I didn't think anything about that, just assuming that like many other people he owns some art. When I checked myself into his place, I opened the front door to find myself surrounded by the most amazing art. It was everywhere – hung on the walls in the front room; on the floor, leaning on the walls in that same room; also in the kitchen; bathroom; and the guest bedroom. Everywhere! As a Brit I don't usually use the word 'awesome', but this truly was - to walk into a space like this and be surrounded by such amazing artwork, some complete and some in that magical process of becoming. I was literally and very tangibly struck with awe. So if I say James is a really cool guy, you'll probably think that I'm saying that because he is such a brilliant and prolific artist with a unique vision, right? Well that is certainly true, but he is also cool in that he is friendly and (with the exception of the intensity with which he manifests his art) he is easy going and great to talk to. Even if it wasn't for the art, I would have still loved Jame's place. Its got such a relaxed feel to it and the guest bedroom is spacious with an extremely comfy queen size bed. I slept better here than I have in months. The location is great as well. The street is pretty with Jacaranda trees in full bloom when I was there. Within about 5 minutes walk are two supermarkets, a Ralphs and a terrific health food supermarket (Bristol Farms), the latter doing some excellent meals (both hot and cold) to take away if, like me, you're too lazy to cook. I also recommend the food at Lemonade (apparently it's a LA chain) - they do a range of very tasty (and healthy looking, although I didn't check their ingredients). One of the berry lemonade drinks they do was also super tasty, but I'm guessing that probably wasn't as healthy even allowing for all the blueberries which pop in your mouth after sucking them up through the straw. You can find Lemonade just down the street a little bit from the Bristol Farms. As for Beverly Hills in general, I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical about what James wrote about this being the best area in LA. I had previously seen a little of Beverly Hills, but to be honest had not been impressed (the areas I had seen seemed a bit souless to me - conspicuous wealth without any heart or interesting sense of style). However the part of Beverly Hills that James lives in is lovely. It's got such a relaxed vibe and the people I spoke to were really friendly....