Los Angeles

Los Angeles says the $7 million it spends each year to clean graffiti is money well spent. Although deep cuts must be made to the budget, it appears this won't be one of them. The city is afraid of sending the wrong message by leaving other messages in place.

Driving between San Francisco and Los Angeles, through the Central Valley, you see empty fields because there's no water anymore. Suddenly, there's an old sign on the side of the road, like a prayer, and then it starts raining.

The extraordinary story of "Venice of America" began in 1891 when the tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney and his partner Francis Ryan started buying oceanfront property 23 km west of Los Angeles. They built a resort  town and called it Ocean Park.

World View
3. It's a great month to visit Los Angeles (p. 10)

Britain Today
5. Will the next king be called Charles? (p. 13)

Shabu-shabu is the original Japanese comfort food. Everything is fresh and the dish is cooked in real time while you and your friends sit around the table. There's shabu-shabu for vegetarians, seafood-lovers and meat-eaters.

Take a drive down Highway 1 with Birgit and Richard Roberts, and enjoy the best road trip in the United States. California is a state of redwood forests, music festivals, hillside vineyards, romantic restaurants, perfect beaches, natural parks and sunshine.

Gustavo Dudamel is a former child prodigy from Venezuela who has just become the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The young maestro is also the star of a new iPhone application that lets players conduct an orchestra.