What kind of suicidal fool goes swimming with a giant shark? Well, I did, actually. And I still have all four limbs. The whale shark, found off southern Baja California, grows up to 50 feet long. It is unquestionably the biggest shark on the planet, greater than the great white and bigger than the hammerhead.

Glorious leader? Colonial tyrant? Whatever your opinion of Queen Victoria, there’s no denying that her 63-year reign left a lasting impression on London: her empire’s epicenter.

In Los Angeles, the car is king—at least that’s the perceived wisdom. The truth is that Angelenos are now using their legs almost as much as they’re using their wheels. Shocking as it may seem, ’hoods with high Walk Scores are among the most desirable in the city. In recent years, Downtown and Atwater Village, for example, have made huge strides in walkability, with scores of restaurants, boutiques, galleries, and music venues opening for business all within strolling distance of one another.

Outside The Red Planet Diner, in the high desert town of Sedona, the model of a flying saucer hovered at an awkward angle, its battered body forever anchored to the asphalt. Scanning the restaurant floor, I found a table with a view of the towering red mountains beyond the car park – a backdrop worthy of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"Out with the truckers, and the kickers, and the cowboy angels. And a good saloon in every single town." The lilting lyrics of Gram Parsons' country rock anthem, "Return of the Grievous Angel", are bouncing through my brain. On the drive from Los Angeles to the tiny desert town of Joshua Tree, I'd had the song on constant repeat.

Peering over the side of a six-man motorboat, I see an enormous plume of water shoot 10 meters into the air. Immediately afterwards, another one explodes behind me. I spin around in time to see the fine spray descending like the tail end of a geyser eruption. “There are nine of them. Maybe 10,” says our captain, Oscar, squinting into the sun.

Frida Kahlo was an artist who seemed to take delight in defying expectations. A cross-dressing, hard drinking, bisexual Mexican Communist, she was – at least during her lifetime – as famous for her wild celebrity parties as she was for her unique style of painting. Kahlo, who died 60 years ago this week, was not easily classifiable.

“Winston Churchill spent a lot of time in this place,” says Ramon Castenada, manager of the nautical-themed bar HMS Bounty (See map below). “Back then, in the ‘40s, it was called The Gay Room.”. Ramon, who’s been working here for 53 years, pulls up a chair and pours me another drink. “Lee Marvin used to sit here, “ he says, indicating our table.

One hundred years ago, on 5 June 1916, the British field marshall, Lord Kitchener, drowned off Orkney’s Scapa Flow, near Marwick Head. His ship, HMS Hampshire, had been struck by a German U-boat mine; of the 655 crewmen, only 12 survived. A superstar of the Victorian age, Kitchener is perhaps best known for the iconic “Your Country Needs YOU” recruitment poster that featured his capped, moustached face and pointing finger.

In the air-conditioned entrance hall of a Palm Desert pasta joint, my son, Kasper (6) is pointing and screaming at a cherub’s penis.

On the rooftop bar of the Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, I'm deep in conversation with Jesus. "Cocktail?" he asks, with deadpan delivery. Without waiting for an answer, he reaches a hand into the folds of his flowing white robe to retrieve a black leather wallet. Kevin Lee Light (otherwise known as Jesus of Hollywood) has been dressing as the Son of God since 2005.

I’m scoffing canapés at a David Bowie-themed cocktail event when I spot Rufus Wainwright nursing a large gin and tonic. “I’m a fan of modernism, sure,” he tells me, when I approach him at the bar. “But I couldn’t spout any vernacular.

A hundred years after Albert Camus was born, Edmund Vallance visits Algiers, the North African city where the Nobel laureate's novel 'L'Etranger' was set

How does a self-confessed rookie get ready for the London Triathlon? Sign up for a training camp in Greece, says Edmund Vallance

Manhattan has always hogged the limelight for live music in New York City. Bob Dylan played his first acoustic gig at Café Wha? in Greenwich Village; Marvin Gaye shot to fame at the Apollo Theater in Harlem; Miles Davis made jazz history at Birdland in the Theater District; and Talking Heads inspired a thousand future bands at CBGB on Bowery.

As a Brit in Disneyland, you can't help but feel a little ashamed of yourself. Every fleck of cynicism shows up like dandruff under a UV light. There are fifty thousand "caste members" here