Happy Friday! We made it through another week. I was so happy that the sun finally decided to make an appearance in Houston yesterday. We have had a super gloomy winter down here, so we are all ready for some summer sunshine!
Speaking of sunshine and warm weather, we were in Palm Springs last weekend for a fun little getaway. I had a work conference that went through midday Friday, so we decided to stay the weekend and have Alex fly out to meet me. Honestly, it was the perfect weekend and I already want to plan a trip back!
On Friday afternoon, we decided to sit by the pool at the Omni since it was going to be the hottest day of the trip. We ate lunch by the pool and enjoyed several margaritas as well. It was the perfect little afternoon.
We eventually got worn out from the sun and decided to make our way to our hotel in Palm Springs. We chose to stay at the Renaissance Palm Springs since I had some Marriott points I wanted to use. It was a nice hotel that was within walking distance to the main street in Palm Springs.
Before dinner, I wanted to check out “That Pink Door.” Someone in Palm Springs decided to paint their front door pink and it has become quite the icon! Several people stop by to take a picture in front of the cute door – we even ran into another blogger while we were there.
We ate dinner around the corner at El Jefe – it is a fun little Mexican joint inside The Saguaro Hotel. I had seen a lot on social media in regards to this hotel, so I wanted to check it out and see all of the bright colors! It was a cute hotel, but I definitely think it could be more of a party scene. I am not sure we would have fit in there, but I can see how other people would like it!
El Jefe was really good! We caught the end of happy hour, so we were able to snag discount margaritas as well. We ordered chicken nachos and some tacos. Everything was seriously so good. My mouth is watering just talking about it!
On Saturday, we woke up super early (like 5 AM early), and headed up to Joshua Tree National Park. This was something that was really outside our comfort zone, but we wanted to do something different and do something healthy. Most of our vacations are just about eating and drinking, so we felt like we should incorporate something that wasn’t bad for us.
I’m not going to go into too many details about Joshua Tree, but we did go on a few hikes and we saw an amazing sunrise. It was breathtaking and one of the most peaceful moments I have ever experienced. The world is such a beautiful place.
I really like this shot with the Joshua Tree and the moon.
We went hiking to the dam, which is the only place in the park with water. There is only water here certain times of the year, so you probably wouldn’t find any water in July.
After doing a couple of hikes, we drove to the Cholla Cactus Garden to see the “jumping chollas.” If you brush up against these cactus, they will jump into you/onto you. So, you have to be really careful. They are super interesting.
Anyways, this place was just really neat overall, and I hope we can come back someday to experience even more of the park!
After leaving Joshua Tree, we were starving, so we decided to head back into Palm Springs to grab brunch. We had heard several good things about Cheeky’s, so we ended up eating there. We had to wait about 45 minutes, but we didn’t mind because we wanted to walk around Palm Springs anyways!
We grabbed almond milk lattes at this cute coffee shop while we waited.
I loved our meal at Cheeky’s! We started with mimosas of course. Alex got pancakes and the bacon sampler. I got Huevos Rancheros with a side of cheesy hash browns (so healthy I know).
After brunch, we decided to head back to the hotel for some pool time. We sat by the pool for a few hours – it was the perfect way to relax after an early morning at Joshua Tree!
After sipping on a few margaritas by the pool, we decided to shower and head out for the night. Before dinner we wanted to check out The Parker Palm Springs – it is really popular resort in the area with tons of interesting decor.
Just like the pink door, it seems like everyone wants a photo in front of these bright red doors out front of the Parker. It was really tough to get this shot because there was a wedding going on and the couple was trying to get a shot out front too!
We grabbed a glass of champagne at this cute little wine bar inside the Parker. It had a really interesting vibe – it was kind of Jesus-themed place, but in a joking way. It was kind of funny.
Overall, this place was just very eclectic, so I kept taking pictures of everything! I mean the decor is just so funky and different.
After running around The Parker for an hour or so, we decided to head to dinner at Workshop. This restaurant is located in downtown Palm Springs and it came highly rated and reviewed. We had SUCH a hard time deciding what to order because everything looked so good.
We shared a couple of smaller plates to start and then ordered some main dishes. Alex ordered a pizza and I ordered cod. Everything was really delicious and fresh!
After finishing up at Workshop, we decided to grab one more drink at a bar next door. One thing I will note is that everything was very expensive in Palm Springs. I think my glass of wine at the bar was $16. I about choked! Needless to say, we went to bed after one drink 🙂
On Sunday morning, we woke up and wanted to go on a walk through downtown. We stopped in the Starbucks Reserve for some fancy coffee. We first experienced the Starbucks Reserve while in Seattle last August, so we wanted to stop in to see if they had our favorite drink – Americano Con Crema. It’s basically an Americano with this amazing whipped deliciousness on top. It was so good!
The downtown strip in Palm Springs also has a few Hollywood stars – I thought that was interesting!
After walking around a bit, we decided to get ready for the day. I first wanted to make a quick pitstop at The ACE Hotel. I had heard a lot about this place, so I wanted to stop by and see what the hype was about. It seemed like a pretty generic hotel to me, but I also didn’t walk around the inside or anything.
I made Alex take a picture with me in front of the letter ‘C’ for Catheryn 🙂
After taking a peek at the ACE, we went to the Moorten Botanical Gardens. This place was actually really neat. They had hundreds of different types of cacti, some of which are extremely rare and hard to grow in this part of the world. We aren’t that interested in plants, but I did think that this was worth the stop! I was impressed with how much they had in such a small space.
We decided to grab some lunch at Las Casuelas after the gardens. They had some of the biggest margaritas I had ever seen and some amazing Mexican food! I can never get enough Mexican food, so I loved it.
After enjoying some yummy enchiladas, we decided to head to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. I thought it would be really neat to go up into the mountains and get a different perspective of the area. The process of getting up the mountain was a little more involved than I thought it would be, so definitely plan for a little extra time.
When you first come in, you have to pay to park and then they will assign you a lot. A bus will actually come and pick you up from the parking lot and take you to the spot where the tram starts. From there, you will purchase your tram ticket and you will be assigned a time. The tram runs about every 10 minutes, so we only had to wait about 10-15 minutes for the next one.
I was surprised at how many people they squeeze on the tram! I think there were at least 50-60 people with us. It was really fun to see the different views on the way up. If you are scared of heights, I would definitely NOT recommend this. Every time the tram passes through one of the towers, the tram car swings. It was a little scary, so I just am giving everyone fair warning to be prepared for some bumps and swings!
Once we got to the top, the views were absolutely incredible! It was breathtaking. It was a little chilly at the top and there was a little bit of snow. Be sure to bring a jacket if you plan to stay for awhile! There are several hiking trails at the top of the mountain. Instead of hiking, we decided to grab beer at the bar!
After making our way back down the mountain, we decided to head to the Cabazon Outlets. I had heard from a friend that these were some of the best outlets in the country, so I figured we would check it out since we were only 15 minutes away.
Right before you get to the outlets, you will see dinosaurs on the side of the road. Don’t ask me why they are they are there, but they are. Anyways, we had to stop and take a photo because I certainly have never seen anything like this before.
We didn’t spend too much time at the outlets because we didn’t really need anything. There were tons of nice stores, though! Definitely a great place to stop if you want to do a ton of shopping.
On our way back from the outlets, we stopped by the Riviera Hotel. I had seen several cool photos from this hotel, so I figured it would be worth a stop. This place really was super cute!
I could definitely see myself staying at The Riviera the next time we find ourselves in Palm Springs.
After snapping a few pictures, we left and made our way to our dinner spot – Azucar. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved this place. Talk about an Instagram paradise! Everything in this place was adorable, and I think I took over 100 photos in an hour.
La Serena Villas is actually a cute little boutique hotel you can stay at and Azucar is the restaurant that is part of the hotel. Part of the restaurant is downstairs and part of it is on the rooftop. We sat on the rooftop the entire night and it was pure bliss. I was 100% in my happy place.
We enjoyed a cocktail before dinner and watched the sunset over the mountains. It was the perfect sunset with a cotton candy sky. They even had little blankets to use since it cools off quickly as the sun goes down.
We ate our dinner on the rooftop as well and the meal was delicious. We ordered an ahi tuna appetizer and then we both ordered fish for dinner. Alex had salmon and I had scallops. We loved every second of this night!
We flew back home bright and early Monday morning, and we were both so sad to go! I promised myself that I would make another trip back someday, so I am hoping that happens sooner rather than later.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed our Palm Springs trip recap, and I hope that this helps you to plan a getaway to this beautiful city! If you have any questions or want more tips and suggestions, please leave a comment below.
Leave a Reply