[trip style = sun]
Earlier this week in the 'dead' of winter, Palm Springs temperatures reached 27 degrees Celsius {81 Fahrenheit} while the town's cool and feelgood vibe is as fresh today as it was when Audrey Hepburn enjoyed a nightly scotch on the rocks at the Raquet Club.
From the moment you set foot in the Palm Springs Airport {PSP}, your stress decompresses. After passing a few small stores and carts selling juice and pastel-colored hats with "Palm Springs" text written across the front, you end up in an open-air, landscaped courtyard with seating areas, grassy patches, flower beds and free wireless---what a way to begin and end your trip.
Stepping out of the airport, there's a skyline of snow-crusted peaks. Yes, the environment is inviting, as well as the bronzed locals whose eyes mirror the town's resorty vibe.
Everything is close. After a 10-minute drive, I check into the Ace, a hotel that's comes highly recommended by my pop culture-immersed and knower-of-anything-cool sister. I'm there to enjoy the facilities to the full because I not only get to hang by the pool, but attend a wedding on-site. The hotel has me at hello.
It's modernism week, a long weekend and there's a wedding on-site, yet the Ace's staff maintains their cool---with a slight air of angst. Since it's only 11am, my room isn't ready, so I embark on a self-guided mod mission {modern map -$5 from the Visitor Centre} to dazzle my eyes with the area's mid-century modern masterpieces.
After ticking off about 20 of the 80 selections, I race back for the wedding. Reminiscent of a high-end campsite, the Ace is cool (aka air conditioned), canvas clad and minimalist. The wedding takes place at the quiet pool, which just so happens to have a adjacent, concrete-floored room with garage doors to host the reception.
The next morning, I need to de-caffinate {I like the taste of coffee but can only have decaf}, so I walk across the street to Koffi, a local coffee shop which must be good seeing as the line-up is 30 people long. Go here for the people watching alone. The coffee is good too.
Apres my cafe, it's time to soak in the rays. By 10am the sun seems to be at full strength, thank God my sunscreen is too. Now, I can fully relax...
In the wake of my taster vacay, I am already planning my next jaunt to: a) see the other 60 sights on my modern self-guided tour b) get some more vitamin D c) vacation with my dog @nachoking (who will probably fit in more at the Ace than I do) d) pick up one of those pastel hats at the airport.
[photo via @heatherlovesit]