Tours

Hours before Pink's recent show at Staples Center, creative director Baz Halpin is crouched beneath the stage in the dimly lighted corridor he calls "the underworld. " That night, Pink's fans would witness the star scale a giant gyroscope, somersault from bungee cords, dangle precariously from silk ribbons and fly over the audience at dizzying heights. Halpin points to crash-landing pads that swell from a trap door to protect the singer, an ornate silver rig for one of five aerial numbers and a small tank filled with water for a finale that blurs the line between circus and pop performance.

Mobile supper club Outstanding in the Field just announced its 2013 farm-to-table tour lineup, and some of the events have already sold out. The big red-and-white bus tours the nation from coast to coast once a year to host dinners at a slew of stunning locations including ranches, sea caves, mountaintops and community gardens. This year's North American tour has scheduled stops in Southern California in the early summer and late fall: On June 6, Romeo Coleman of Coleman Family Farm -- a Santa Monica Farmers Market favorite -- will host an Outstanding in the Field supper at his farm in Carpinteria, along with guest chefs Rachel Main of Main Course California and Karl Holst of Birnam Wood Golf Club.

Tours of the Golden Gate Bridge inaugurated during its 75th anniversary in 2012 are back for a second season starting April 1. Fans and even locals give this tour high marks on Yelp for the engaging back-story about the bridge's Art Deco style, the dangers during construction and why civil engineers selected it as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World . Tours last 45 minutes and are offered six times daily through Oct. 6 on...

You saw him allegedly smash a Roots member's guitar this month on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. " And you no doubt heard about his stunning late-night concert at South by Southwest last weekend. Now Prince is taking his revitalized live show on the road for a West Coast club tour set to launch in mid-April. Appearing Wednesday night in a video chat with the blogger Dr. Funkenberry , the members of Prince's new backing band 3rd Eye Girl said the trek will kick off April 15 in Vancouver and wrap up with gigs May 7 and 8 at the City National Grove of Anaheim.

Say “cheese,” burger. Some of the nation's most renowned hamburgers will get their photo ops in the Travel Channel's new series “Burger Land,” premiering Monday, April 15. Among the first stops: Pasadena's beloved Pie 'n Burger , in the initial episode profiling some of the best burger joints around Los Angeles. The show is hosted by burger expert George Motz. In 11 half-hour episodes, he will tour a different region on his burger-worshipping road trip. Among the stops: Dyer's in Memphis, for a deep-fried double-cheeseburger.

WASHINGTON - A Republican-led attempt to reopen the White House to tours was defeated largely along party lines Wednesday in the Senate. Senators voted 45 to 54 on the measure from Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who was seeking to reshuffle the sequester cuts to bring back the White House tours and also prevent closures at Yellowstone and other national parks that have been hit by the budget reductions. Republicans have criticized the decision to shutter the White House as a political move by the Obama administration designed to give the sequester cuts some bite, particularly after the president's stark warnings over the consequences of the reductions have not been realized.

California's legal efforts to end federal oversight of prison mental health care have run into trouble with the U.S. district judge hearing that case a second time. In an order filed Monday, Judge Lawrence Karlton asked California to explain why he should not throw out statements of four of the state's expert witnesses, who contend they found adequate mental health care in the 10 prisons they toured. Lawyers for prisoners contend the experts' testimony was based on secret tours of the state's prisons that were organized in 2011, without notifying plaintiffs or the court.

The San Francisco Symphony said on Sunday that it has canceled its upcoming East Coast tour as its musicians continue to strike over compensation. The orchestra's tour was scheduled to kick off Wednesday at Carnegie Hall in New York, with two concerts. Carnegie Hall said that the concerts will not be rescheduled. Other scheduled stops included Newark, N.J. and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Orchestra management said in a statement that musicians rejected a "cooling off" period that would have allowed concerts to resume.

THE BEST WAY TO LONDON From LAX, Air New Zealand, American, United, British and Virgin Atlantic offer nonstop service to London, and United, American, KLM, Air France and Delta offer connecting service (change of plane). Restricted round-trip airfares begin at $1,780, including fees and taxes. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (international dialing code), 44 (the country code for England) and 20 (the city code for London). CEMETERIES Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, 38 City Road, 7374-4127; http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk . Enter Bunhill Fields in the search box. Guided tours on Wednesdays, April-October.

Two highlights stick out in Tom Lehman's career, which has also had its fair share of lows. In 1996, he won the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. And in 1999, he was on the winning Ryder Cup team at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Lehman, who turned 54 last week, has had that kind of success on the Champions Tour, which has stopped at Newport Beach Country Club for the 19th annual Toshiba Classic this week. At the end of 2012, Lehman became the first player to repeat as Champions Tour player of the year, and he became the first golfer in history to be named player of the year on all three PGA tours: the Web.com Tour (formerly known as Nationwide)