We came to America to escape the grey clouds of London so where better to start our real canvassing of sunny western cities than the sun drenched California desert?
I don’t know what planted the seed in my head about Palm Springs. I had mixed visions of large pink stucco geriatric compounds on the one hand and fabulously retro cocktail bars by glistening blue pools on the other. I needed to find out which side of the balance between old fogey and swinging hipster was truer, and whether Palm Springs could be a final destination for our nesting.
Before we arrived we shared our pre-existing notions of the place: palm trees, old people, 60s throwbacks, manicured desert-scapes, Sinatra melodies floating on the wind, pristine golf courses, good looking people doing good looking things, stunning plates of California cuisine.
As we drove into town from a dusty route across the desert, past the Sultan Sea and the Coachella Valley which has become famous for its music festival, we were thrown by the shabbiness of it all. The streets were full of palm fronds, the pool of our rental house black with sand and leaves, caution tape across the supermarket parking lot. A war zone. It took us about 12 hours to learn that a freak wind storm had struck the valley and these scenes were out of the ordinary. In fact, in just a couple of days, the valley’s usual pristine appearance was restored. Phew.
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| The windstorm had knocked 'a few' lemons off our backyard lemon tree so naturally I made lemonade |
Our mid century modern rental house delighted us to no end -- built of simple lines with one guiding principle: – to provide shade and cool while fully embracing its environment. And what an environment it was. Out our immense windows we gazed at an 11000 foot snow capped mountain with canyons and rocky craggs towering over palm trees, themselves towering over a bursting lemon tree, in turn towering over a lush green lawn that perfectly bordered a sparkling blue in-ground swimming pool.
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| the front of our butterfly style mid century |
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| The back of our mid century...killer view and i'm not just talking about my husband |
We learned that Palm Springs is not the small desert community that we thought it would be – but actually a collection of desert cities including Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta. A ridge of mountains frames this strip of towns on one side, while the famous San Andreas fault (you actually see the fault!) and route 10 frame this narrow corridor on the other side. It was popularized by Hollywood in the 1950s. At the time, actors had call back parameters and needed to be within a 4 hour drive to LA. Transportation and communication logistics were not what they are today – so Palm Springs was about as far as you could venture to get away from it all.
The springs, and the palms that sprung up in those springs are real. In fact, as you hike off into the canyons you come across these ancient palm groves – scenery that brings to mind all sorts of exotic places from Africa to the middle east , it’s like you’ve wandered into some Disney adaptation of what a middle east palm oasis should be. Is this really natural you keep asking yourself? You see, your mind is playing games with you – and I’m not just talking about a heat-induced mirage. The connection to Hollywood is to blame for this confusion. All those Hollywood people saw the potential and Hollywood came out to the springs to shoot films – the natural palm oases saved Hollywood a lot of money in airfare – suddenly it was Morocco, and Arabia, and Egypt. The settings for all those exotic films of the 50s and 60s…yep, they were shot in palm springs.
We hoped the Don Draper retro thing, merged with a large population of gay men would make Palm Springs particularly fashionable. A friend once told me that there is such a thing as unfashionable gays, and sadly they are all in the springs. Think aging gay men and the cast of Jersey Shore combined as some horrible black wife beater and tight cut off denim shorts hybrid. It’s really not pretty. As for the wealthy straights that live in the greater desert communities, it’s the breast augmentation and botox set. I’d say they were friendly, but I couldn’t really tell since their faces are in permanent botox comas.
Another problem with the town is that it is chock-a-block with Canadians. French speaking Canadians at that. And from their antics I would say over-viagra’d, over whiskey’d Canadians. I suppose Palm Springs is to western Canada what Florida is to eastern Canada.
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| Everyday. Late January. North of the Equator. |
I asked Andy to give me his 3 words to sum up the town:
Retro. Old. Sunny.
I can’t tell if that is net positive or negative.
My three words would be: Sunny. Vintage. Potential.
Palm Springs against our New and improved criteria:
1) Is it a college town? No, in fact it is devoid of anything academic except art.
2) Does it have liberal politics? Oddly for being 25% gay, it does not.
3) Is it sunny? Hell ya. A bottle of factor 50 per week sunny.
4) Is it sporty? Yup – canyons, bike trails, golf courses, great public lap pool
5) Career prospects? Not really.
6) Airport access? Pretty easy to fly to LA, some American cities, no international
7) Foodie? Not really, no. (but it is hinting to become foodie)
8) Aesthetics? Yeah, pretty good on the eyes - Good views of the mountain, great architecture.
9) Easy to make friends? The fact that we didn't probably answers this question.
As the 6 weeks went by there were highs and lows but the balance unfortunately tilted to the 'no go'. On our criteria the springs failed miserably…so why do we long for it now that we have left?
It’s a great place for a relaxing vacation by the pool. And it looks like it might break the hip barrier in the next decade. Keep an eye out. In the meantime, if you should find yourself there:
Restaurants – all of these are on or near Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. We ate at places in the other desert communities and they were all ‘ehhh’ – steak places and chain restaurants abound.
- Cheekys – for breakfast or lunch. They have a ‘bacon flight’ that changes every week – 5 different strips of bacon. We went at least once a week. It is that good. Try to go on a weekday or you’ll be in line over an hour. http://www.cheekysps.com/
- Birba – next to cheekys and owned by the same people – cocktails and pizza. Really really good pizza – thin crust, unusual toppings. http://www.birbaps.com/#
- Citron at the Viceroy – great bar or restaurant (if you’re hungry) by a small pool in this boutique hotel. All the glamour you’d expect and none of the pretentiousness – very welcoming. I think they have a singer songwriter on Wednesdays and Saturdays. http://www.viceroypalmsprings.com/dining/bar.html
- Sidebar at the Riviera hotel – more glam and larger than Citron, but less atmospheric. More lively jazz/soul live music. http://www.psriviera.com/sidebar-lounge.aspx
- Lulu’s – California Modern comfort food eatery. A bright buzzing place on the strip that is Palm Canyon Drive. You’d end up here without us telling you to go. Menu is average but you don’t go for the menu. Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Cheesecake Factory-esque huge menu with all types of cuisine. http://www.lulupalmsprings.com/
- Tinto – just opened up in the Saguaro hotel Awesome basque style tapas. This made us think Palm Springs was moving in the right direction. http://www.jdvhotels.com/dining/riverside/tinto
- El Jefe – same chef and hotel as Tinto/Saguaro – this is their Mexican cantina. Awesome Mexican small plates and cocktails. http://www.jdvhotels.com/dining/riverside/eljefe
- Kings Highway / Ace Hotel – This was a Denny’s in a Holiday Inn or Motel Six. Now it is a hipster paradise. You can swim (read ‘look glamorous’) in their pool with a day rate. They have gay bingo and drag charades on Monday or Tuesday http://www.acehotel.com/palmsprings/dining?__utma=75537667.93718..
- Mister Parker at the Parker – we had to go here since it was on that Bravo reality TV show about the hotel. The room is awesome, and I’m glad I got to see the hotel, but the restaurant is not great. Go for a cocktail instead. http://www.theparkerpalmsprings.com/dine/mister-parkers.php
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| Pizza at Birba |
Activities:
Day trip to Joshua Tree National Park
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| Joshua Trees |
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| Cable Car Vertigo |
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| Early morning tee off at Escena |
