Thinking of planning a trip to southern California? Los Angeles and Santa Monica may be on your list already, but if you have some extra time, you have to go to Palm Springs! We actually started and ended our trip in Palm Springs, and let me tell you, that is the NICEST airport I’ve ever been to. It’s like getting off a plane and walking into a park!
Palm Springs was such a cute town, plenty of places to shop and eat, and of course, PALM TREES!! Christy and I ate lunch at Lulu’s California Bistro since the boys weren't in town yet. There is indoor and outdoor seating at Lulu’s, but our Uber driver advised us that there are actually two menus and the one for outdoor seating is more expensive! We sat inside at the high top tables in the bar area. The food and drinks were great and the atmosphere was enjoyable! We would definitely go back. When we finished up our lunch we wandered around Palm Springs and checked out all the shops.
After the boys got into town, we ate dinner at Azucar at La Serena Villas. We thought it might be a little weird going to a restaurant that is part of a hotel we weren’t staying at, but you couldn’t even tell it was part of the hotel! La Serena Villas is described as a luxury boutique hotel on their website, and from what we saw, that is undeniably true. It definitely felt more like a resort atmosphere than a hotel. I would love to stay there one day! Azucar was a small, busy restaurant, but the service was great. We made a reservation in advance and I would absolutely recommend doing so.
The next day, we got up and had breakfast at Pinocchio’s in Palm Springs. The food was good, but more importantly, they offer bottomless champagne for just $5! You can add a carafe of juice and make your own mimosas!
After breakfast, we drove to LA and went to Griffith Observatory to see the Hollywood sign, because it’s a requirement if you go to LA right?? Then we had lunch at Il Fornaio Beverly Hills, which is the cutest little Italian restaurant. The pasta was so good!
Of course we walked up and down Rodeo Drive and dreamed about shopping at Tiffany & Co (Okay, maybe that was just me). We also walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame. My favorite part was all the handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. It felt more personal than the stars on the sidewalk because the celebrities left little notes along with their handprints and footprints.
Once we got into Santa Monica, we stopped by Sweet Rose Creamery for milkshakes and ice cream. After stopping by our hotel, we walked down to the Santa Monica Pier and walked along the boardwalk. We had a light dinner at Independence before turning in for the night to rest for our upcoming day of bike riding.
On Thursday morning, we got up and rented bikes from Santa Monica Bike Center, which was conveniently located right down the street from our hotel. We rode on the bike path all the way down past Venice Beach to Marina Del Ray and then turned around and rode back to Santa Monica. It totaled about 15 miles, but since we had E-bikes, it felt like nothing!
While on the bike trail, we stopped and had lunch at the Sidewalk Café. We ordered salads that came in huge taco type shells! They were so good and just what we needed to be able to keep biking!
After we returned the bikes, Jordan and I walked down to the beach so I could stick my toes into the Pacific Ocean. It was COLD!!
Then we walked along the boardwalk until it was time for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which I realize you can pretty much find anywhere, and we really were trying to pick places to eat that you can’t get at home, but sometimes it’s just easier to go with what you know! Jordan always gets the chicken parmesan pizza, which is basically just a pizza sized chicken parm. SOOO GOOD!
After dinner, Jordan and I walked back down to the pier to ride the Ferris wheel and then Christy and Chuck met us at the end of the pier to watch the sunset.
The next morning we got up and went to breakfast at Bru’s Wiffle in Santa Monica before starting the drive back to the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area. Jordan had the chicken and waffles and I had the Churro Waffle! Both were delicious, and mine even came with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream on top! Ice cream for breakfast is always a winner in my book!
On the way to Palm Desert for our sunset Jeep tour of the San Andreas Fault, we stopped in Chino, California at a small airport to check out their air museum (traveling with pilots, yall). They had a ton of planes from WWII that actually still fly today! We also bought some airplane parts while we were there, because why not?
We got back on the road and found a BBQ restaurant to eat at and then made our way to Palm Desert to start our sunset Jeep tour! The Jeep tour was definitely a highlight of the trip for me because I love being outside and seeing God’s creations and learning new things! Pretty sure Jordan enjoyed it also, because he got to climb around like a mountain goat. We also happened to be in California for the very beginning of the Superbloom! Our tour guide said Palm Desert typically gets about 3.5 inches of rain per year; they got that in ONE DAY a few weeks before we went out so there were so many flowers blooming in the middle of the desert!
The next morning we got up and flew back to Atlanta! Traveling is fun, but coming home at the end of a busy week is always nice!
What should we check off our bucket list next??
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