Palm Springs and Las Vegas

Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Indian Wells are all great places for a beautiful relaxing time in the gorgeous State of California. I have been there many times and it is always so nice to be back. I love the quiet laid back feel and of course there are lots of wonderful places to eat and discover. Las Vegas after Palm Springs just kicks everything up a notch. Fun, glamour and excitement are all in order and again great places to eat and discover are on every block.

I love any place that has street names after Frank Sinatra, Glen Ford, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Bob Hope and Dinah Shore.

The Renaissances Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells is a nice place for a few days of relaxing by the pool and they had some great food at The Cava Restaurant.

I loved the Arnold Palmer which was a combination of sweetened iced tea and lemonade. It was refreshing and perfect with my lunch.

The enormous seared Ahi Salad was so good I had to have two days in a row. Mixed greens, green onion, carrots, edamame, wonton crsips all tossed in a soy ginger wasabi vinaigrette. A friend of ours had the BLTC -Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and jumbo lump Crab salad two days in a row because it was also exceptional.

Jensen`s Foods in Palm Springs and Palm Dessert were such beautiful markets I had to stop and take pictures. I even discovered something new... Brown Tomatoes!!!

A four hour drive and we were in the heart of the Las Vegas strip. Vegas is such a great place for a weekend visit and since it is just a 2 and a half hour flight for me an easy mini vacation anytime.

There are so many good hotels and we have stayed in many. This was the first time we stayed at the Aria and I have to say the hotel was wonderful. The rooms are very modern and comfortable and come with all the latest technologies. It is a smart room so when you open the door the lights all come on and the curtains open to show you the spectacular view out the window. Cool!

There are many restaurant choices in the Aria and we enjoyed Julian Serrano - Tapas Restaurant.

They serve a big selection of traditional and modern Spanish tapas like the Serrano and Pata Negra hams, ceviches, 

or the tortilla de patata - potato omelet.

You simply must go to the Jean Philippe Patisserie in the Aria and also the Bellagio hotels for something sweet and spectacular!

spectacular desserts

pastries

gelato

and lots of things to take home with you.

so hard to choose!! but wow worth every calorie.

and if you want to have a raspberry donut this is the one to have!! made with lots of real raspberry.

now that is a chocolate fountain at the Bellagio Jean Phillippe location!!! it starts above your head and pours all the way down to the floor!!

The I love Burgers restaurant in the Venetian Hotel was great! I love a well made burger and these did not disappoint. They were perfectly cooked and topped. All there burgers are grass fed Angus Beef. This was the Bar-B-Q burger with bacon and onion strips. We had sweet potato fries with a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar on them and some garlic Parmesan fries. SOooooooo Delish!

We also had the Wagyu Beef burger (aka Kobe Beef) truffle cheese, garlic and onion marmalade and served with a port demi dip. Very good and when you taste both burgers side by side you can absolutely taste a difference. Both are exceptional!!!

Now....back to real life again!