Palm Springs Trip Recap: Where We Ate, Drank & Explored

Hi there!

After a long weekend full of Miami sun and bachelorette festivities (and perhaps a few too many drinks!), I’m back home in SoCal. I think it’s going to take me a few days to catch up on sleep and recharge from all of the fun, but it was an awesome girls’ trip celebrating my best friends’ upcoming nuptials!

I’m going to recap some of the awesomeness of the weekend soon, but today I want to share with you guys a post about some of the spots I visited during my Palm Springs weekend getaway with my hubby a few weekends ago. Let’s get to it!

Where We Stayed

Palm Springs is a desert vacation town about 2 hours from my house. We wound up visiting the area for the weekend when the company we own a timeshare with, Welk Resorts, offered us a complimentary villa for a couple of nights at their Palm Springs resort. Neither of us had ever been there before, so I jumped on the chance. The villa we stayed in was really nice and overlooked the resort’s golf course.

Since we normally trade our San Diego timeshare week for a stay at other locations (for instance, our Austria and Lake Tahoe trips), this was our first time experiencing a stay at a Welk Resorts property. I loved having a fully loaded kitchen, and think it would be an especially nice setup to have for a long trip since I always prefer to make some meals myself when I’m traveling (it’s healthier and cheaper!).

(Photo cred: Welk Resorts)

Where We Ate & Drank

As per usual, I was excited to eat on our getaway and scoped out some eateries beforehand.

When we headed into town, we went straight to Las Casuelas Terraza for dinner. Located in the middle of the hustle & bustle of downtown Palm Springs, this  Mexican restaurant has been open since 1958 and features an extensive tequila list, lots of typical Mexican cuisine and live music every night.

We noshed on guacamole & chips, then I got a bean & veggie taco salad bowl, while A ordered a chicken burrito. I thought that my salad had way too much sour cream and guacamole and not enough of a variety of veggies and cheese, but we enjoyed the festive atmosphere. If you want to hit the dance floor, Las Casuelas Terraza is a good pick.

Great Shakes might have been my favorite eat of the entire weekend. I mentioned it in my DietBet recap, but A and I split their Oreo caramel shake and it was out of this world. Other items on the menu that I’d love to try include their cake shake, Oreo mint and peanut butter banana milkshakes. What can I say, I’m a sucker for ice cream!

This dessert spot gives off a retro vibe and also offers an array of old school candy, like the above pictured 1-pounder Sugar Babies box and those cigarette candies that I remember from my childhood (kind of a messed up candy for kids, right?!). If you’ve got a sweet tooth while in Palm Springs, Great Shakes is a must visit.

Another night we had dinner at Al Dente Trattoria Toscana. The Italian eatery offers a nice wine & cocktail selection, and I enjoyed a Grey Goose pear martini:

We split the caprese salad, and for my entree I ordered their pasta primavera. I was a fan of getting in my veggie fill with the dish and wanted my carb fix since I had hiked all afternoon. Though it tasted good at the time, their pink cognac sauce was a bit too heavy for my liking.

As per usual, I ate half of the dish and A ate the leftovers the next day. I have pretty high Italian food standards, and overall Al Dente had a nice atmosphere, but the food didn’t wow us.

Native Foods Cafe is a little eatery we ate lunch at before heading out of town at the end of the weekend. They also have a location near me in Encinitas, and the restaurant offers a completely vegan menu, with items like Thai seitan meatballs and tempeh tacos. I ordered their veggie chicken and bacon sandwich with avocado pictured below, and it’s a casual little spot for a quick healthy meal.

For cocktails, Lulu California Bistro is where it’s at. It’s is a bustling restaurant & bar in the heart of Palm Springs that we popped into for an after-dinner drink. It’s a huge place with decor that I thought was really fun.

(Photo cred: Lulu)

Where We Explored

My favorite part of being in the Palm Springs area was spending the day at Joshua Tree National Park, which I talked in detail about in this post. It’s a really cool spot to hike, rock climb and explore at, and I’d recommend to anyone visiting the area who loves being out in nature.

We also spent some time walking around downtown Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive. It’s always nice to walk around and get some fresh air after dinner, and their downtown area has some cute little shops and art museums to check out.

While overall, Palm Springs wasn’t our favorite California getaway, we still had a blast getting out of town for a few days and getting to familiarize ourselves with the area.

Tell me… Is Palm Springs on your radar to visit, or if you have visited there, what’d you think of it? What do you prefer more, Italian or Mexican fare?