A lazy day in Palm Springs

Having driven about 1200 miles, give or take the odd hundred, Karen was keen to get some serious R&R. So today, after a breakfast at Ruby's (see below) and booking dinner at Melvyn's, we headed to the pool.


So that was it for our day today...novels, sunbathing and the odd swim. Utter bliss. Melvyn's was suitably sophisticated, and thanks to Jon Paul for our dinner there.

But, in lieu of a horizontal day by the pool, a few questions for our American cousins.

First and foremost, how DO they manage to stay in at least reasonable health? Karen had breakfast at 9am and it's now six and she still doesn't feel hungry. The plate of food she had placed in front of her would have fed a family of four. If Americans do eat breakfast (and they seem to, from a casual observation) how on earth do they keep their weight down?

Secondly, for a nation fuelled on coffee, why is it so bad? Brown watery stuff. Even the cafetiere of "good" stuff that Fiona ordered at the poolside wasn't very strong. Time to take some notice of the French and the Italians, chaps, if we might make the suggestion.

Thirdly - why is it that we have to tip so much? People get tipped for breathing here. When you request a service, it should be delivered. We might be old fashioned, but tipping should be for exemplary service, not just the act of doing what your job entails...shouldn't it? and if the wages aren't sufficiently high, then corporate America should be looking at their bloody profits and deciding that if people are their greatest asset (ha!) they should be paid as though they were a valuable asset.

And finally, in a boutique hotel which has an environmental conscience, why is it that the plugs on both the washbasin and the bath don't hold water?

This is your crabby, English, used-to-living-in-wet-and-dreadful-weather tourists signing off.....