"I don't think this is a good idea," I say to Luca. We've already almost been arrested this week. I'd rather not get booked for trespassing.

"We're not going inside," he assures me. Instead, he takes me along the length of the fence, toward a small grove of palm trees and a little wooden hut that I assume was once used to rent out beach chairs and umbrellas.

He pulls me inside the hut. Once we're safely hidden, he says, "Now, I want you to tell me exactly what ...