DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

I've been holed-up in meetings this week in downtown Los Angeles. While this hasn't been a good week to be downtown -- a record-breaking 113-degree day on Monday literally broke the city's official thermometer -- I'm looking on the bright side: I'm getting a chance to rediscover downtown L.A. Unlike other major American cities, downtown Los Angeles has always struck me as being a place to work rather than a place to live. For years, people have tended to commute here to work, then leave as fast as possible and, as a result, downtown L.A. really went downhill. That seems to be changing, now. My meetings are at a place called L.A. Live and I think they call it "live" for a reason. It's chock full of lively restaurants, shops, museums and theaters ... and I've noticed a few new, upscale condo complexes, as well. I took the photo above from a banquet last night atop the new Ritz-Carlton. Granted, the neighborhood is in transition (the area behind the Ritz and the L.A. Live complex is pretty run down) but it all looks a lot nicer from 30 stories up, doesn't it?