Our second stop on our babymoon we made our way inland to Palm Springs. Palm Springs has lots to do but its also a great place to simply relax by the pool at your hotel or house rental. We love to explore and be very active on our trips but this time around we wanted to make sure we had plenty of relaxing down time as we know our lives are going to get quite hectic in the months to come.
We stayed at the lovely Holiday House, which was newly renovated just last year. This hotel ticked all the boxes for us: stylish design, a large pool perfect for relaxing, delicious food, central location and very reasonable pricing.
^^Fresh watermelon juice served all day long—a pregnant woman’s dream come true!
SHOP THE LOOK
^^Super cozy lounge areas around the pool, perfect for doing nothing but relaxing with a cold drink and a good book.
^^Original architecture by Herbert W. Burns
^^Really lovely rooms decorated down to the detail casting you straight away into holiday mode.
^^Lots of original artwork all around the property including works from John Baldassari, David Hockney, Roy Liechtenstein, Herb Ritts, Alex Katz and Mr. Brainwash.
^^Yesssss. The glorious pool (image credit)
^^Hubs doing some very important reading :) + a poolside “bucket of veggie” from The Pantry. We also had the fish tacos, burger, chicken salad and chips and guacamole—all excellent.
^^Driving around the city admiring all the mid century modern homes, and in particular this little famous gem known for its pink door.
^^Spent an afternoon at the Palm Springs Yacht Club at The Parker getting massages and enjoying the indoor pool. So many cool bits and bobs around the property, definitely worth a visit if you aren’t staying here to see the beautiful decor. Grab brunch at Norma’s or a drink at Mister Parker’s.
^^Lovely indoor pool for use while visiting the spa
^^Date night with my hubs + our little bambina. Heading out to dinner at Birba, an Italian restaurant with a lovely outdoor patio space.
Dress | Realisation Par
Bag | Mango
Joshua Tree
We made our way to Joshua Tree early morning to beat the heat and found the temps to be more than manageable until around mid day, which was the perfect time to head back to our hotel’s pool. The drive from Palm Springs takes about an hour and is well worth it if you’re interested in seeing an otherworldly desert atmosphere of crazy muppet-like trees, huge rocks, and tons of cacti. There are two entrances easily accessed from Palm Springs, the West entrance and the South entrance. The West entrance is nearer to some of the main landmarks in the park so we entered through the West and drove all the way to exit at the South before heading back.
^^Crazy amazing “Joshua” trees
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^^And of course the must stop fast food when in California :) No trip is complete with a little In-N-Out
WHERE TO STAY:
Holiday House: Originally designed in 1951 by Herbert W. Burns and redone in 2017 by designer Mark D. Sykes, Holiday House has everything you need: delightfully decorated property and rooms, large pool with lovely lounge areas as well as a bocce ball court, complimentary bikes for use, delicious fresh food at The Pantry restaurant, and a central location right off the main strip.
Korakia Pensione: Romantic Mediterranean style resort with individually unique rooms as well as a pool, spa, yoga, complimentary bikes, fire pit, and outdoor movies played at night.
The Amado: Stylish rental home with five rooms accommodating a large family or group, or with the option to rent rooms individually for singles or couples. Large pool, fire pit, and BBQ.
The Parker: Exceptionally stylish hotel with expansive grounds including a large outdoor pool, spa with indoor pool, several restaurants and bars, fitness room, tennis court, Pétanque, croquet, yoga, and bikes.
WHERE TO EAT:
Workshop: A 2015 James Beard Award winner for best restaurant design, the interior isn’t the only thing Workshop is well known for. Featuring a seasonally driven menu focusing on fresh ingredients from local farms, as well as a killer cocktail and wine menu. A must visit in Palm Springs.
Birba: Beautiful outdoor dining and a menu filled with Italian favorites like pizza, meatballs, fresh made pasta and salads.
Farm: Garden-like patio seating with a menu inspired by the south of France.
Cheeky’s: Breakfast served all day as well as lunch options until 2pm. No reservations.
Norma’s: Brightly colored, cheerful atmosphere located at The Parker hotel, with a big menu featuring breakfast all day.
TO DO:
Relax at your hotel or house
Palm Springs is the perfect low key place to simply relax. So while there is lots to do, make sure and set some time aside to do all of nothing but sit by the pool and sip on cold drinks with a good book or your favorite music.
Vintage Shopping
Tons of good vintage shops in the city for designer finds and beyond including The Frippery and The Fine Art of Design.
Architecture Tour
Known for the Mid Century Modern architecture, you can take guided tours of the city or put together your own and drive yourself.
Spa Day
Pamper yourself with a day at one of the many spas including Palm Springs Yacht Club, the spa at Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage, and La Quinta Spa.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
The world’s largest rotating tramcar will take you over 1.5 miles up along the cliffs of Chino Canyon and into the pristine wilderness of the mountain top. Once at the top, enjoy two restaurants, observation decks, natural history museum, two documentary theaters, gift shop and over 50 miles of hiking trails.
Day trip to Joshua Tree
About an hours drive from the city, spend a few hours or more exploring the crazy other-planet like environment at Joshua Tree National Park.
Photography: Images shot using the Fujifilm X-T2 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 R LM OIS Lens
^^First stop was a delicious lunch at 
^^Tucked back amongst the homes in the area, you’ll find a series of canals in homage to the famous ones located in Venice, Italy. It’s a great place to take an evening walk before dinner to admire the water-front houses, watch the ducks swim by, and view the sunset over the canals.
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^^breakfast at 
^^Great way to get around the neighborhood: Scooters….only a dollar a mile when you download the app.
^^Can’t get enough of the plants and flowers everywhere. I guess that’s what perfect year-round weather will do.
^^Spent a day at Venice and Santa Monica beaches relaxing and getting some much needed sun. Santa Monica is about a 1.5 mile walk up the beach from Venice.
^^Route 66 begins in Chicago and ends at the Santa Monica Pier. The Pier is full of lots of rides, games and your typical carnival type foods but it would be a great (although busy) place to take kids or just to check out if you have some extra time. The view from the very end of the pier is really nice.
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^^Indulging in a little shopping at Brentwood County Mart. We stopped in 
^^Finding 
^^Farm Cafe—how breakfast should look every day
^^settled in—happy camper anytime I’m set up on a beach for the day
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^^Cauliflower crust pizza from Farm Restaurant—delicious! 
^^El Matador Beach – really beautiful atmosphere with big rocks and little coves to hang out in.
^^Anita Street at Laguna Beach
^^Crystal Cove Beach
^^Sandcastle time :) Crystal Cove is really family friendly with lots of space for kiddos to run around, dig in the sand, + a couple nice restaurant options. You can also rent condos right on the beach if you are really looking for a beachfront experience.
^^San Clemente—about 20 mins south of Laguna. A really quaint little Spanish inspired town with a nice beach, beautiful pier and lots of cute restaurants and shops.
