After the hustle and bustle of LA, the pace in Palm Springs was a balm, quickly calming and soothing my celeb-jangled nerves. Too much star-wattage in too few days is tiring, n’est-ce pas? Riding up the elevator at Soho House on Sunset Boulevard with Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, curiously dolled up in plaid. Tiring. Sitting opposite Cameron Diaz at The Ivy, albeit with a signature gimlet in hand. Too much. Rubbing elbows with a certain buxom blonde starlet on Runyon Canyon’s trails. Good grief!
I craved low key and a dearth of paparazzi, and Palm Springs proved to be pure heaven. I spent my days zooming about the city, shopping for mid-century modern finds and castoffs from the great estates of yore at glorious design shops like The Estate Sale Co. (just across from the stunningly designed Parker Palm Springs, but more on that later); Hedge, tucked away in a warehouse in Cathedral City; A La Mod; and Modern Spaces.
Other highlights?
My architectural tour with the charming, engaging, wildly knowledgeable and super cool Robert Imber of Palm Springs Modern Tours was amazing and educational, underscore and underline. After my tour, I practically wanted to buy a house in P.S. I was smitten, especially after a few hours with the engaging Mr. Imber and his insightful commentary.
Cocktails at Mel Haber’s Ingleside Inn, yum and retro-rama.
And dinner at Copley’s on Palm Canyon, wow. Wow. Wow! We sat under the stars at this gorgeous restaurant with its postcard-perfect views and gracious, warm staff and savored the cool evening from what was once Cary Grant’s Palm Springs retreat. Romantic, and how! As we supped on chef Andrew Copley’s Oh My Lobster Pie and pan-roasted Alaskan halibut with baby spinach, life suddenly slowed and the sublime supplanted shallow. If you haven’t visited Copley’s, book a table.
This Jet Setter swooned.
Photos: (above) The fabled Kaufmann House designed by Richard Neutra Photo, photo by Jason Oliver Nixon; (below) Dinner on the sublime patio at Copley's in the center of Palm Springs, photo courtesy of Copley’s.