Southern California Close-Ups: The gentle and genteel Santa Barbara

If all of California had been created by a romance novelist, it would probably look like Santa Barbara -- whitewashed walls, red-tile roofs, gentle slopes, lapping waves, swaying fronds, stately churches and private estates suitable for Oprah, Rob Lowe and the crowned heads of Europe.

By Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 15, 2012