What a different world, what a comfy lifestyle, what a heat! "GPS" stands for the Greater Palm Springs Area, which consists of nine cities in the Coachella Valley, all of them a little different. When we've been here for the last time, in 2001, we mostly stayed in Palm Springs and didn't see the diversity. Now we are staying in the Miramonte Resort in Indian Wells, the town, where the famous tennis tournament takes place and where golfing is a big deal. We drove from one end of the Coachella Valley to the other end and, eventually, got to know the broad spectrum the area has to offer.
On Wednesday, all went amazingly smooth with our flight over to the U.S. No lines nowhere, our luggage always was among the first ten pieces to show up on the conveyor belt, car rental only took in 5 minutes,,, We lucked out! And, we had beautiful views on our short flight from SF to PS, all from snow covered mountains to dessert and the GPS area.
Arrived at the Miramonte Resort in Indian Wells - casitas on beautifully manicured grounds (pics above) - after a 30-minute drive from the airport a little after 7 pm. We were pooped, but - thanks to business class - not that much. Temps around 95 deg F. at arrival - what else could we wish? Cooled down with a shower and a local IPA from tap at the hotel bar, had a charcuterie plate in the room - courtesy of the hotel - before we unpacked and called it a (long) day.
Thursday morning we started early with a healthy breakfast of avocado-full-grain-toast and granola with yoghurt and fruit in the hotel, of course, outside, on the patio. First point on our itinerary this morning was the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens in the city of Palm Desert - a mix of a Botanical Garden and a Zoo. Really instructive! We learned a lot about the flora and fauna in different parts of the Sonoran & Mohave Desert, watched dessert animals and took pics of dessert plants.
It became hot in the course of the day, up to 100 deg. F (37 C). Next stop: the Palm Desert Art Museum & Sculpture Park (pics below), then on to the new Hotel Paseo where we had a cold Arnold Palmer with Jean-Paul from the GPS Tourism Office. Walked El Paseo, the main axle in Palm Desert with public artwork (pic), lots of galleries, boutiques and the fancy El Paseo Gardens, a mall with beautiful cacti gardens.
Out we drove (the many and slow red lights and some really slow cars - retirees? - are the only nuisance!) to Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs - a town with a different, less-mundaine character. Cabot's Pueblo is a pueblo-style architecture built by an adventurous trader by name Cabot Yerxa, "Mr. Desert Hot Springs". He was an adventurer, architect, artist, collector, explorer, visionary and writer, born in 1883, who spent a lot of time in Alaska and traveled the world. In 1913, Cabot arrived in the Coachella Valley and homesteaded. In need of water, he dug a well near his home and discovered hot mineral water, later a cold spring. In 1941 he began building the pueblo in its current location as a museum to display his impressive collection of Native American art and artifacts as well as souvenirs of his travels and his own works of art.
After our tour there it's only been a 10-minute-drive to El Morocco Inn & Spa - not at all your typical hotel or spa, but a place with an authentic Marocco flair. The owner, Bruce, gave us a quick tour on the property, proud of his little gem, furnished and decorated with authentic Northern African pieces - like a genuine Maroccan tent, original fabrics and lights. Afterwards, we soaked our stiff bones in the pool, fed by hot mineral springs, followed by a nice 45-minute-massage. We felt rejuvenated afterwards! With beautiful courtyards and only 13 hotel rooms nowadays, The El Morocco Inn & Day Spa was built in the late 1950’s directly on top of a vein of thermal hot waters in Desert Hot Springs - a feature for which the city became famous.
Had to hurry a bit to get to the Eastern end of the valley then, to La Quinta, for a tour of the famous La Quinta Resort with its spread-out Spanish-style casitas, some of them original from the 1920ies. The stars from Hollywood - like Greta Garbo (her house is on the pic), Ginger Rodgers, Clark Gable, Bette Davis, or Shirley Temple - were escaping to La Quinta, looking for a peaceful and luxurious retreat, a green oasis in the middle of the desert. There are 40+ pools, 5 public golf courses, tennis courts and whatever else you can think of. Pure luxury!
After a site inspection on a golf cart, we had a dinner invitation at Morgan's, one of several restaurants on the grounds. The restaurant was the place where the founder of the resort, Walter H. Morgan, invited the Hollywood elite. Besides excellent service (never available in Germany!) we had an excellent, creative meal of partly local ingredients, prepared by chef Camiel Henning from the Netherlands who introduced himself to us. The gazpacho and the dungeness crab salad as appetizers were followed by a Wagyu Zabuton Steak with lobster maccaroni & cheese and a duck breast on a heavenly compote of shallots and bacon with madeira sauce, with polenta and mushrooms. The steak was one of the best ones (or even THE best one) we have ever had. At the end we got a dessert platter with a Thank-You-note (see pic) - what a nice treat! Such an excellent meal, paired with excellent California wines - haven't had something similar for a long time!
A packed, but perfect day. In the heat. Which we love!
