(Our first Day)
There are no words to explain how much I loved exploring Palm Springs and a little bit of LA! Today I am sharing all the places we got to visit that are also Instagram-able places as well. Let’s start off from when we landed to CA. We flew into LA and rented a car with Toyota. We had a few hours to kill with Anna while the other girls flew in from Seattle because their flight arrived a little later. Anna and I walked around Manhattan beach and got coffee. Of course we had to stop at every corner to admire the beach and all the beautiful homes, trees and cacti. We picked up the girls and headed to Butchers Daughter for brunch. They literally have the best avocado toast in the whole world! No but for real, you need to eat there at least once in your life. You will crave it if you don’t have one near you. Haha! We stopped by the Cafe At Mansur Gabriel. You have to try out their teas. They are so refreshing! We didn’t eat there because we weren’t hungry but it looked amazing. This was such a cute spot for photos as well. Right around the corner was Alfreds Tea Shot so we walked there and had more tea. You bet we took more photos! Haha! We headed back to the car and ended up with a parking ticket. Haha! You guys, LA is terrible with parking and I’m also surprised we only got one. Haha! Make sure you read the signs before you park. I tried to fight it but ended up having to pay for it. We drove to our villa in Palm Springs around 5pm. I would recommend leaving around 2pm because traffic was terrible between the time we went. We ended up stopping at In N Out and made it to Palm Springs within 3 hours. We checked into La Serena Villas and got our rooms. We were freaking out because the decor was breathtaking and everything around us was jaw dropping! They have a jacuzzi and a pool so we ordered drinks and hung out and relaxed, laughed and then passed out for the evening. Haha! You can see the hotel images down below and how breathtaking the area is. I mean come on, heart eyes all day that I was so sad to leave!
(Our Second Day)
We woke up around 6am and tanned, ate chips and guacamole (they were amazing), took more photos and relaxed some more. We decided to ride bikes to get lunch and coffee. Bikes are included in the stay and it was such a fun experience. We headed to Ernest Coffee and had lunch a a hotel a block down called Reservoir Hotel. I had their chicken wrap with french fries, so good! Then we rode our bikes back to the hotel while making two more stops. We headed to Great Shakes. This place was so fun, bright and adorable! Anna was craving more donuts, so we stopped by Swiss Donuts and I am so glad we did because they were so good and did I mention so cheap? We stopped by the next day obviously and got 4 bags. Haha! We headed back to the hotel and got ready quickly to get to Joshua Tree. We ended up turning around because there was so much rain and warnings of flooding. It was weird. Haha, so we ended up just hanging out at the hotel and having dinner. Their margaritas were amazing and their food was so good!
(Our Third Day)
We woke up early and headed to Laguna Beach because we wanted to see the famous Castle. It was kind of a struggle to find it but we followed these instructions and found it:
- Park along Pacific Coast Highway. The closest cross-streets on PCH are Nyes Place and Upland Rd. While the official address of Victoria Beach is 2713 Victoria Dr., Laguna Beach, CA 92651, the only public parking is along PCH.
- Depending on where you park, you have the option of a few different streets to turn into in order to head toward the only entrance to the beach–a “blink and you miss it” stairway at Sunset Terrace and Victoria Drive. Another two streets–McAulay Place and Nyes Place (which intersects Victoria Drive) will also lead you to the stairway.
- Head down the stairway and try not to panic because you don’t see the tower anywhere. Don’t worry, you’re not at the wrong beach! Head to your right around a group of rocks once you reach the base of the steps.
When you find it, it’s so worth it! It was so beautiful, peaceful and we got some amazing photos around there. We sat by the beach for about 40 min and then headed back to grab a late lunch at The Deck on Laguna Beach. You have to try their burger! Enough said, haha! I love that it looks out to the beach. Their Moscow mikes are amazing! We headed back to Palm Springs (to our villa), changed once again and headed for roping 2 of Joshua tree. Haha! We wanted to catch the sunset. The drive from Palm Springs there is about an hour, so make sure you leave around 4:30, 5pm to find the perfect spot at Joshua Tree. There is so much to see and if you drive further the views only get better. It was unreal!
(Our Last Day)
Woke up early and packed all our things, checked out of the cutest villa and stopped by for more Donuts. We dove to Beverly Hills Hotel Guys! Every corner here was so cute! We snapped a bunch of photos and then enjoyed breakfast. Make sure you call in advance there to get a table. They get pretty busy. We then headed to Carrera Cafe and got some coffee before we headed to the airport to drop off the girls. Anna and I had another 4 hours to kill so we ended up going to Santa Monica Pier. We walked around the Pier, rode the ferris wheel and swung on the swings by the beach. We enjoyed the best french fries at a little bus that was standing right when you enter the Pier. You won’t miss it. Then we watched the sunset and headed to the airport for our flight back home. This was such a fun trip! I can’t believe the amount of activities we did while going back and forth from Palm Springs and LA. I really hope this helps you plan your next trip and get a glimpse on where you should stay and places to visit. If your only going for a couple of days, you can make all of the activities we did happen. Enjoy and thank you for reading babes! Also, enjoy a glimpse of our trip down below!
xoxo, Alena Gidenko
Sunflower Ring says
sooo lovely!!! I’ve always want to dye my hair like you!!
ALENA GIDENKO says
You should! ??