Los Angeles, California. Aside from the Big Apple, is there any other place in America that might legitimately call itself the Center of the Universe?

In the case of Los Angeles, it is the center of the entertainment universe and has more legitimate movie stars per square inch than just about any other place on earth.

And so visitors come for the glamor and the glitz, for a chance to catch sight of a star maybe just going to the supermarket or walking in quasi-designer cut-offs and tee-shirts down Melrose Avenue. They come to see how movies are made, how television shows are produced, to be thrilled by the area's amusement parks and to soak up the endless sunshine on beaches populated by the most beautiful people in the world. Downtown L.A.

On our most recent visit, we tried something different: setting up base camp right in downtown Los Angeles, which of course is the hub of the Los Angeles Basin with spokes heading in every direction for every kind of adventure you can imagine. Checking in at the Omni Los Angeles, our "camp" was actually the lap of luxury. This hotel is a modest size for downtown L.A. ' just 17 stories,' but located right in the heart of downtown next to California Plaza's shops and restaurants and just a short walk from many interesting sites. The rooms at the Omni are tastefully modern, decorated in the tan, beige and subtle green combination that you see in so many new houses these days. Rich mahogany furniture, elegant lighting fixtures and chocolate velour couches contrast nicely with the overall color scheme. In short, it's just what you might expect in L.A. , luxurious and very up to date.

Similar to the "giants" of the Redwood forest, downtown L.A. has its own "Valley of the Giants" giant, mostly modern, gleaming buildings that will keep you straining your neck as you constantly feel compelled to look skyward at these products of man's ingenuity. With L.A.'s sunshine, the buildings reflect each other, each one offering a different, fascinating visual pattern. And almost none of these skyscrapers are elongated boxes, all the newer ones have angles of some sort, all snugly placed alongside each other like some humongous three-dimensional puzzle.

If you appreciate art and design, it's a two-minute walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art with its imposing "tree" of airplane and transportation parts greeting museum-goers at the door. Or, it's another two minutes down the street to the Walt Disney Theater, home of L.A.'s classical music and maybe the most unusual looking structure in all of downtown with its billowy, non-linear angles. Sculptures and other forms of artwork are sprinkled throughout the downtown area, leading one to believe this is one very art-conscious city.

Of course no visit to L.A. would be complete without encountering some movie-making. There always seems to be an L.A. movie shoot on weekends -- and this trip was no exception. A crew on a truck rigged with a camera platform that lowered to almost road level was filming a vehicle "chase scene" as it passed by our hotel.

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