Palm Springs

We decided to 'sleep in' until around 7 which felt wonderful. We grabbed coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea, walked around a little bit then got ready to go for a hike. the place we decided on didn't open until 8, which is unfortunate as it's so hot. Indian Canyons is gorgeous! It was highly rated on tripadvisor and several people told us it's worth seeing. The Andreas hike is around the oasis and much of the trip was by a shaded river. It was quite pleasant, relaxing and gorgeous. Then we did the Murray hike which was gorgeous but in a very different way. It was mostly in the sun and quite hot, but went towards a little oasis of palm trees.

We enjoyed our hiking thoroughly, but by 10 it was too hot so we headed back, showered and decided to grab an early lunch at 11:30. We went to the recommended Gyoro Gyoro, a sushi chain in Japan with several locations in LA and now Palm Springs. It opened a little over a month ago and was quite good. We got a sushi sampler and a chirashi sushimi, both of which were great samplers. Yum.

We booked a spa day at the Tuscan Springs Spa when we learned that the spa at our hotel was closed. What a great choice! Our hotel is right next to the main road so very convenient, but a less expensive option that is pretty basic. (Palm Mountain Hotel and Spa). We wanted a spa to go to and didn't want to drive, but we were really glad we did! This place was gorgeous! We felt like we were in Tuscany with the terra cotta tile, white walls, bougainvilla, tropical plants, tile.. it was really beautiful. There is a volcanic-heated hot spring well on the premises, which feed three mineral spring pools. One is hot, one warm and one cool. A large patio has several covered lounging beds, lots of comfy chairs, and a view overlooking the mountains and much of Palm Springs. It was definitely worth the drive.

We each got three-hour treatments, and I got a massage, foot massage, scalp treatment and a body scrub. Wow. Decadent and so wonderful! The lady who owns the place is from italy as well as her husband. They close from mid-July to the end of August as they are so slow. There are 8 very nice rooms that I would love to stay in sometime. It would definitely be worth the cost! http://www.tuscansprings.com/

We headed back to our hotel, showered and got ready for dinner. Last night we went to the Falls Steak House which was recommended. It was quite good. We split a steak, potato and cesar salad. Tonight we decided to go to a french place called Le Vallauris. It was around the corner from our hotel and amazing! Beautiful patio covered with trees with fans blowing so it was quite pleasant. The service was amazing, manager came to talk with us and the food perfect! They had a price fix which was a great value. It wasn't an inexpensive meal, but was worth it. Kim got a pate, lamb with ratatouille, and a chocolate tart and I got smoked salmon (to die for and made in house), duck with apple and spinach, and a grand marnier souffle. I'm not a huge fan of grand marnier but it was quite good!

Tomorrow we're going to hike one of the other trails at Indian Canyons that two guys we met yesterday recommended, get breakfast at Cheeky's, a local place that is farm-to-table and highly recommended (several people as well as tripadvisor) then we'll head home.

We're both a little curious how Palm Springs sprung up as a destination place as there's isn't much here. The hikes are wonderful and there's a lot of spas and some shopping, as well as a casino. It's a mystery but at 4 hours or less from Phoenix, it's a nice place to visit and I'm glad I came!