Visiting LA was an experience. It’s one of those places so vividly depicted in contemporary culture that it’s impossible to arrive without a head full of opinions and expectations. Hollywood, palm-lined boulevards, Beverly Hills mansions, Venice Beach skaters, Malibu sunsets, the endless traffic, and perhaps the most puzzling social fabric in the developed world. I was ready to be crushed under the weight of it all.

But after a couple of days wandering from Compton to Beverly Hills, I found the city surprisingly… normal (…).