Adventures in Rodeo Drive

But what is Beverly Hills really like?  see more photos of the Penales Family with Boy, Noly, Reina and Mark vincent at














Beverly Hills is, above all, a small town for the wealthy. Less than six square miles in size, Beverly Hills is strictly a neighborhood of homes and shops. The city has churches, but it has no smokestacks; it has restaurants, but no industry; boutiques, but no billboards; parks, but no eyesores. There's not even a hospital or a cemetery in the city to remind the residents of their mortality. It has been said that, technically, no one is born or dies in Beverly Hills.















































Beverly Hills is a place for the fortunate to live in comfort, and to shop and dine at their leisure. It just so happens that many of these fortunate few are celebrities. On the city's tree-lined streets, you'll see more stretch limos, shining Mercedes-Benzes, and sleek Ferraris per square mile than at any other place on earth. Even the fireplugs in Beverly Hills are painted a gleaming silver. The city's first mayor (back in 1926) was a celebrity: actor Will Rogers.

It is also a place where the wealthy can feel secure. The Beverly Hills police department prides itself on being able to respond to any call in less than a minute.

They don't care much for pedestrians here. Of course, you are encouraged to stroll on Rodeo Drive's commercial strip. But if you start roaming around the residential areas of the city on foot, chances are pretty good that you'll be stopped by a Beverly Hills cop, who will check your ID, and generally make you feel as if you are intruding. In the past, minorities (especially African-Americans) have complained that they were routinely stopped by the police if they so much as drove down some Beverly Hills streets. Some say that is still the case today - let's hope that the situation has improved. This is a city where the pawn shops are called "collateral lenders," and make quick loans on Mercedes and Ferraris instead of toasters. This is a city where some of the clothing stores require customers to make advance reservations to shop, and where shoppers may routinely drop $100,000 or more in a single visit to a boutique. A city where the post office offers valet parking. This town's "Sister City" is none other than Cannes, France.

The Jump Shot of The Hunk Mark Vincent Alayon Penales