Ahhh Palm Springs…if there was one place in California that I wanted to visit, it was Palm Springs…Retro glamour and architecture at it’s best! To be honest, the most famous instagram door in the whole of America is in Palm Springs and I wanted a snap or two (there are more than two photos I promise!).
We arrived after our day trip to Disneyland, I may blog about Disneyland this year…but it will more likely be in 2017 or 2018 at the rate I’m going, I’m failing at this blogging business. As we were driving into Palm Springs the temperate went from double digits to triple digits and it turned into a furnace…poor daddy had man flu so you can imagine how he felt in 44 degree heat (for the normal people of this world…in celsius!)…he was the perfect travel companion!
Palm Springs is one of those destinations that isn’t too taxing…you eat, swim, shop, eat, maybe do something a tad touristy and then eat, shop and sleep some more…a perfect spot to rest on your California road trip.
So let’s start with the most famous pink door on instagram…if you follow fashionistas on instagram you will know what I’m talking about…THIS PINK DOOR…or if you’re fluent in hashtag #thatpinkdoor…
…now let’s see how Kelly poses by the pink door…the normal “ish” pose…
…the pregnancy pose (I’m not pregnant, just fat!)…
…the Pee-wee Herman pose…
…the stride by (trying to look cool while yelling at mum “have you taken the photo yet, remember to get the palm trees in” and also trying to hold my tummy in and failing!)…
…the Sale of the Century pose!
Let’s just say, my sister Lisa is pretty darn fabulous…she’s so much better than an instagram husband or instagram child…let me introduce you to the “instagram sister”…Lisa stand here…
…Lisa I need your back to the camera pretending to take a photo…
…Lisa look into the distance…
…Lisa is available for instagram work on weekends and from 5pm onwards during the week and currently lives in New Zealand…so if you need someone to pose in front of the Wanaka Tree looking into the distance or to stand on some mountain top looking like she hasn’t broken a sweat (sorry I sweat like a pig, Lisa perspires lightly), she’s your gal! (The hat belongs to me…bought in Venice…styled up by the “Instagram Sister”)
I’m guessing you’ve seen enough of the famous pink door…we meet a local who said they were looking at painting the door white…let’s start a really good blogging rumour shall we…#thatpinkdoorwillbecomeawhitedoorsoon…pass it on!
We decided to visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs on the outskirts of Palm Springs (it’s an easy drive)…perfect if you like to drop a shoefie with a giant dinosaur (obviously I did!).
In essence, it’s just a lot of big dinosaurs that don’t do anything but you can have some real fun here…
…I would like to say I know what each one was called but I don’t so I’ll rename them to make my life easier…that’s Bob and Jim above. (I should point out that Bob is the random name I call people when I forget their name, I just rename them to Bob and I generally call people who are really called Bob…wait for it…Bobkins)
^^Jim again with some Palm Trees…so many Palm Trees in Palm Springs…crazy eh!
Here comes Liz with Liz Junior…she looks like a Liz don’t you think…
…and I suppose this is Kelly the Dinosaur…this is what I look like in the mornings…grumpy, angry and ready to eat everything in sight (even my folks refuse to talk to me on skype in the mornings!).
With all these dinosaurs you have to strike a pose…or maybe a few poses…the instagram sister strikes again (I love her so much!)…
…mum act scared as you’re about to be eaten by a dinosaur…she smiles…obviously she’s looking forward to getting eaten by a dinosaur…
…once again mum is looking forward to getting by eaten by a dinosaur (she was probably having a good hair day hence the smiles or she’s got daddys credit card and he’s about to be eaten!)…
…act scared mum…I think she almost cracked it (almost)…
…the instagram sister about to enter the T-Rex’s back passage (it probably wasn’t the day to wear pastels!)…
…we may have scared a few dinosaurs with our double chin selfie!
After our little fun adventure with the dinosaurs we moved onto the serious business of shopping at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets…
…okay this little adventure almost ended up in a disaster as some idiot decided to put their credit card into the slot for notes in the drink machine (with a bit of force us Kiwi women have when something doesn’t fit)…thankfully the said idiot has a fabulous daddy who is MacGyver in his spare time.
Amazing shopping with the best discounts I’ve ever seen…I got a DVF dress for £83…crazy!
We decided to check out the cable car which gives amazing views over Palm Springs but ummm….
…yeah we didn’t go up…let’s just say the ride to the top wasn’t for the faint hearted and I struggle with heights…I freak out on the second step of a ladder.
As I said earlier, Palm Springs doesn’t have a lot of attractions to keep you busy for a whole week…it’s all about relaxing…swimming…shopping and eating…we did visit the ever popular blogger destination, Moorten Botanical Gardens which surprise surprise is only open a few hours a day, first thing in the morning…
…it was closed when we decided to visit! To be fair, I prefer flowers than succulents which I just find a tad boring….I’m going to go to blogger hell so I might as well admit it here and now…I hate succulents! I do like a cactus to be fair…well I used too until I had an unfortunate incident while having a wee in Libya a few years ago and reversed into a cactus…it got my foot only thankfully.
So let’s talk Palm Trees and Retro Architecture…well let’s not…I will just spam you with photos…it’s easier…
…you…
…can’t…
…beat…
…a…
…good…
…old Palm Tree in Palm Springs!
We stayed at V Palm Springs Hotel which is a funky little retro style hotel with a pool…
…my pool shoefie but without any shoes…
…the cute bar area by the pool…
…how very American…getting misty…have never seen this before until I got to America…SOOOO weird…and even in the main street while walking on the pavement…weird…just sooooo weird…
…the “instagram sister” enjoying the pool area…
…striking an instagram pose like a pro…peace out sis…
…I really liked the simplicity of the hotel…it was rather instagrammable…
…and it had extremely friendly staff which is always what you’re after on any stay!
I really did like Palm Springs and I will definitely return one day…it’s got a charm to it, it’s not big and bustling…it’s a spot where you don’t feel guilty for just sitting by the pool reading or going shopping at Target or Walmart to escape the heat!
I hope you enjoyed all the family photos…I have a quote framed in my home which says “REMEMBER AS FAR AS ANYONE KNOWS WE ARE A NICE NORMAL FAMILY”…people say my family is crazy, I just think we’re normal and everyone else is slightly boring!
Travel Tips for Palm Springs
- We stayed at the V Palm Springs Hotel; it’s very motel in style (Kiwi’s will know what I mean when I say this!) so if you aren’t that mobile then I would request a ground floor room – the staff were friendly, the pool was clean and the location was an easy drive into the main centre to have dinner.
- Moorten Botanical Gardens was a short walk from our hotel; check the opening hours as well didn’t realise it would only be open until 1pm! Entry is $5pp
- You can find more information on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway…I was too much of a wimp to go on it!
- The Cabazon Dinosaurs are an approximately 20-30 minute drive out of Palm Springs (on the way back to Los Angeles)…entry is $10pp…Mum and Dad both received a senior citizen discount, woohoo…hello $7pp entry.
- The Desert Hills Premium Outlets is just a short distance from the Dinosaurs so you could hit both of them up on the same day like we did…amazing shopping and discounts…remember to take an extra bag.
- Talking of shopping…it’s rather easy to get around Palm Springs if you have a car; we rocked up to and shopped at Walmart and Target and loved it…Walmart is amazing for people watching! Both have amazing gluten free options in the grocery section, I picked up numerous gluten free items and hello fresh fruit.
- You know when you get hot and you don’t feel like eating…well that was us really so I’m a bit light on the ground with gluten free options but I really did enjoy the cheap and cheerful Fisherman’s Market and Grill where they make everything fresh for you and the menu clearly stated what was gluten free (I’m the weirdo craving fish in the desert!). Looking for more detailed options then check out these blog posts on gluten free options in Palm Springs here and here.
- That Pink Door is located at 1100 E Sierra Way, Palm Springs…google maps got us there with no issues…use the hashtag #thatpinkdoor to stalk on instagram
- I’m not a great fan of ASOS due to the quality however the floral dress that I’m wearing is amazing quality, cotton and perfect for holidays and it’s on sale!
- If you plan to visit Palm Springs then I highly recommend getting a car to get around…when it’s hot, you don’t want to be walking and it’s quite spread out. It is extremely easy to drive around, the roads are wide and well signposted.
xx
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