Free Art in Palm Springs

As you know, one of my favorite things to do in a city is to take a walk to look at street art. So many cities work with local artists to beautify their streets, buildings, trash cans, and electrical boxes. Palm Springs is no different and there are tons of great photo opportunities all over. Unsurprisingly, I was ecstatic.

Why yes, I do love you Palm Springs!

Over the 5 days we were in town, we saw so much free art, not including all the amazing architecture, which is a whole other thing of its own. 

The art starts as soon as you get off the plane. The airport is mostly outside, with great places to sit, picnic, view art, let the kids play, sip coffee or wine, and even learn a little history. Throughout the grounds are a scattering of sculptures, including two of these beautiful scenic rams.

Downtown and Uptown are chock full of commemorations of previous residents, including former Mayor Sonny Bono, who got his own bronze statue (there's a bust of him at the airport, too, before you get to the Sonny Bono Concourse). You can see how well loved this statue is as a photo op. Seconds before I took this, there was a whole family climbing on him for a picture, and seconds after I took this, I took one of Eric with him. There's also a plaque that tells you all about why Bono was such a honored member of the community.

Across the street, a little bit up the block, you'll find this bronze statue of Lucille Ball. We actually missed her the first time we went down that street. If not for Pokemon Go, we may not have seen her at all. It was very sunny, so you'll have to pardon all the terrible shadows. Lucy came to Palm Springs before her career had taken off and then returned again and again once famous and married to Desi Arnaz, staying in the best hotels and even making a movie there.

The streets are lined with colorful benches, each done by a different artist. Make sure to walk all the way around them, because there's something different to see from each angle. Each has a completely different vibe and I was loving it. There were pop art ones, nature ones, and ones celebrating Pride. There was even one outside the airport that looked like a giant plane ticket on top of two piles of suitcases. Very clever.

It's not all sculptures and benches though, because there also seems to be a cool mural tucked around every corner. I saw so many I couldn't take photos of while I was driving, but I did stop outside a hotel I wanted a photo of and this was on the wall between it and the hotel next to it. Swoon!

Here are 3 different pieces of art in one picture: Fault Line Meditation by JEVPIC, 
Line-Segments-Palm-Springs by Ryan Campbell, and Palm Springs Babies by David Cerny

We never made it to the Palm Springs Art Gallery, even though we had every intention to get to it. We did enjoy the park across the street from the gallery one evening, where there is So. Much. Art. For free!

Enjoy this different view.

The street leading to the museum greets you with a gigantic Marilyn Monroe. This 26-foot statue, entitled Forever Marilyn, celebrates another one of Palm Springs' famous residents. You can also take a self-guided tour and see what is dubbed the Marilyn Monroe house (from the outside), one of the homes she rented throughout her career.

I loved everything, no matter how weird, out front of the museum, but I especially loved this one called Suspended Time, by Gonzalo Lebrija. This car is surrounded by a small black lake, giving it an awesome mirrored effect.

This is actual water.

What did I think of Palm Springs and all its amazing art? There was a piece of art to describe that, too. Wow by Midabi. With so many things costing money, self-guided walking tours are a great way to do something cool for free. It's one of the best free activities in my opinion, because city art is a wonderful way to get a feeling for a city and the people who live there.

What's your favorite piece of street art, or your favorite city for street art?

5 Items I Never Travel Without

I tend to travel more than most people, and I like my trips to be easy and convenient. I accomplish this, in part, by finding items that help me travel better. There are things I take on certain trips on not on others, but there are 5 things that I always pack, because they have become a necessity. 

If you're looking to kick your vacations up a notch, then here are my suggestions for your carry-on:

A Reusable Water Bottle

Staying hydrated is very important, especially when you're walking more and sitting on a dry airplane for hours. I bring along a thermos that keeps liquids hot or cold, that way I can take my coffee on the go and also fill with ice and water for cold water all day long. This saves me money and also time standing in line to get a beverage. It's also great for the environment, because I'm not constantly buying another bottled water. Most places have bottle filling stations. While it may not be the greatest tasting water, it's free and if you have ice in it to make it really cold, it mostly masks any weird flavor. 

I either take along a S'well bottle that I use every day at work or a bigger Laken bottle, but also sometimes both (one for each of us). 

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A Pop-up Mesh Laundry Basket

For more than ten years, I've been traveling with a collapsible laundry basket that I use as a hamper and a laundry tote. It has great sturdy handles and pockets to hold change for machines, the strap to keep it closed, and detergent. I've also used them to carry games, when we've had to go to an actual laundromat outside of our hotel/timeshare. It's strong enough to carry multiple loads, even when wet. You can also use it to corral all your purchases, so you don't forget anything when you're ready to leave. I've done this in the past when I was figuring out if I needed to get anything for anyone else before I left.

It looks like the one I have has been discontinued, but you can get one without pockets, or if you want one with pockets, there's this one that may not be as as heavy-duty with an outside mesh pocket, and this one that is taller with a reinforced outside pocket. 

Reusable Grocery Bag

One of my first stops on a trip is either to the grocery store or farmers' market. A lot of places charge for bags now and I've been to destinations that don't have bags at the register at all. I have several of these Nanobags that are super small and can fit in your bag, pocket, or coat. They carry a ton and weigh almost nothing. I use these at home, too, and bought some for everyone else to use  when the whole family went to Scotland in 2019. You can buy them here (I use the standard), or if you're looking for something similar Chicobag is available on Amazon.

We've used these for festivals, purchases when out sightseeing, and for carrying around our coats when it stops raining or we get too warm. If you haven't packed a back-up bag for your return trip and have purchased a few too many things, then this works in a pinch as a personal item on the plane.

Battery Back-up

When you're out all day long and taking pics and posting to social media and using GPS  and playing Pokemon Go (or whatever else you do on your phone), your battery is not going to last. I carry a big backup that will charge both of our phones twice during a day. This is especially great when we're at theme parks or we're on a a long flight. We survived off this battery on our flight to France, where we had a whole day layover in Baltimore (basically two days before we could charge up properly). It has 3 ports, so you could, conceivably, charge 3 devices at the same time. 

Mini Power Strip

When you're traveling with multiple electronics that you need to charge at the same time, it's helpful to have a way to do that if you only have one or two free outlets. I have several travel power strips, including a surge protector, that are small and take up less space than multiple chargers. This way I can plug in my laptop, phone, and portable battery all at the same time. The one above doesn't seem to be available anymore, but there's this one that is similar and I have also taken this one on trips where I thought a more substantial one might be better and this one for international trips. 

It may seem like these 5 items will take up a substantial amount of room in your carry-on, but I promise they won't, and they will save you having to bring other things, as well as save you money once you get to your destination, which is always great. I hope this helps you be more efficient in the future and your travels are easier because of these tips.

What are your favorite things to bring along on your vacations?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may be compensated monetarily. Thanks in advance for any purchases you make. It helps me continue to run this blog and bring you my best budget travel tips.

The Prettiest Foods in Palm Springs

Last week we were in Palm Springs and we spent 5 days eating and sightseeing and window shopping (with both shops and homes) and soaking up some much needed sun. We did a lot, but we also relaxed quite a bit. 

We went to a handful of "must-visit" restaurants while there and had some of the prettiest food we've seen, which I always enjoy and like to share, because you eat with your eyes first. Here's a quick tour of our trip through dishes we were served:

Farm

We made it off the plane and our car was dropped off (we used Turo) and we were starving, so we headed straight downtown, found free parking, and headed to Farm. This French country restaurant uses locally-grown and sourced foods that all looked beautiful. I was even able to get a watermelon juice. I haven't had one of those out since our trip to Ecuador. Anyway, I asked our waiter his preference between two dishes and he recommended the eggs Florentine. My eyes and my stomach were both happy with that decision.

Gastropub 1501

I knew we weren't going to want to eat too heavily on our first day. Our flight was just before 8am, so we were on our way to the airport at 5:30. We ate pretty much as soon as we got off the plane, but travel days are always weird, so I opted to hit up a much-recommended gastropub for happy hour. We aren't drinkers, but we love a good discounted food menu. I'd been looking forward to this charcuterie board all week and I was not disappointed when it arrived at our table, with the exception of the marcona almonds, but then realized those were awesome with everything else. 

Eric also ordered this avocado toast, which was lovely to look at, but he was less than thrilled by the bland "heirloom" tomatoes, and I thought the onions weren't pickled enough. When he mentioned his thoughts on the tomatoes, the waiter said he'd heard that before. I wonder how many time times they need to hear it before they change the kind they use to something more palate-pleasing. 

Boozehounds

I found this restaurant on a list of Instagram-worthy dining spots and chose it because it had great reviews and also was a hot-spot for people with dogs. I made reservations for brunch and we sat on their pretty patio, so I could see diners with their pups, and ordered this blueberry ube blintz plate and French toast (it was nothing exciting to look at, but was tasty). This came with matcha powder and edible flowers. 

The food was good, but not amazing. The biggest disappointment here was the crazy prices for their coffee. Eric ordered a French press ($9!) and I got a double-espresso ($2.50) that they served me in a shot glass instead of an espresso cup and it was stone cold by the time he brought it to the table and explained the menu. I will give them credit for the gorgeous restaurant, inside and out, and the amazing bathroom.

Tac/Quila

We were able to walk to downtown/uptown from our timeshare, so we did and we got a lot of bonus exercise this way. The people who started Farm decided that they wanted to venture into a different kind of food from another part of the world. The opened an upscale Mexican restaurant and serve everything from specialty cocktails to small plates to platters. We both had tacos (calamari and steak), but we started with taco chips, which are like tiny tacos filled with refried beans and served with a trio of sauces/dips. I love their plates. Click through my link to see the restaurant and their amazing bathrooms.

Wilma and Frieda's

All the most-recommended restaurants seem to be right next to each other, but Palm Springs is actually fairly small, so that's not surprising really. We finally made it to Wilma and Frieda's on Sunday for brunch with a very short wait. Their menu has a ton of things that sound delicious. I ordered the biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs and country potatoes. It was very good, but not visually interesting, though the eggs were that very fresh deep yellow color. Instead, I give you Eric's bangers and rings, an eggs Benedict with a split open grilled cheddar sausage and poached eggs nested in onion rings. It could have used more sausage, but other than that, it was interesting to look at and to eat.

 

Local restaurants tended to be fairly expensive, so I only made one reservation a day, and it was usually breakfast. Dinners were hard to get reservations some days and the price per entrée were more than we were willing to pay.  Overall, the food in Palm Springs was very good, but somewhat overpriced. Coffee, almost everywhere, was outrageous, but my $7.50 coffee at a coffeehouse was better than all the (even more) expensive coffee at restaurants. I'm not sure what sort of coffee crowd they're catering to, but if I'm paying almost $10 for a drink, it either better be a damn good artisan coffee with flavors and spices or have booze in it. Even so, I can't wait to go back to Palm Springs. 

What are some of your favorite places to travel for the food?