Advertisement
Published: November 26th 2014
Edit Blog Post
Quito - 11/25/2014 - Day 2
After breakfast, we decided to take in the sites of Quito. It was a drizzly morning, so we grabbed our raincoats and took off for a walking adventure. The city is very hilly, lots of pigeons and dogs! Looking up the hill you can see a large angel statue, looking down you see the tops of red tiled roofs. Many shoe shine stalls, vendors selling their wares under umbrellas, lots of traffic and honking horns. The public transportation here consists of many cabs, buses, and streetcars. We found the businessmen here to be very well dressed, in suits and ties.
Passed the Palacio del Gobierno (Governor's Palace). A group of cute little school children in uniforms was taking a a tour. The children here are adorable, dark hair and dark brown eyes. Stopped at the Quito Cathedral. Beautiful interior. On the wall was a Last Supper picture, with guinea pig (cuy) on the menu. There are some cracks and damage to the stone interior, but reconstruction appears to be ongoing. You'll find a few beggars with bowls outside on the cathedral steps.
The buildings here are very colorful. You can find a row
of lime green, aqua, yellow and cream exteriors. Plaza Grande is surrounded by long, narrow shops, selling electronics, clothing, shoes, candy, etc. There are stores where you pick out the soles of your shoes first, then have the tops added.
You can see some great city views from the top clock tower of Bascillica del Voto Nationale. For $2, you can walk up the circular stairs to the second and third levels of the church, then up to the lower clock tower. We didn't go up the final set of stairs, a little too high for those afraid of heights! There was an elevator to the top, but we bypassed that. The only other tourists we have encountered were in the tower area, a group from Canada.
We walked by a park with a manmade lake and moat, renting paddleboats and canoes. So many dogs in this area. A kiddie playground and lots of exercise equipment. Stands around the park sold fruit, juice, grilled corn, etc. We got a big cup of fresh cut mango and a glass of fresh pineapple juice. Delicious! We walked to the top of a circular brick shrine.
Further north in the
new area were two large parks, one on either side of the road. A clown was performing in Parque El Ejido, gathering lots of onlookers. The area had beautiful flowers, monuments, trees and clipped hedges. Many people were enjoying the area, walking, sleeping, reading.
We found Amazones, the most famous street in Ecuador. Many expensive hotels and shops. Also some familiar places in the area, Macs, KFC, and Burger King.
We found the Casa de la Cultura Equatoriana, a 3-block circular mirrored building. Beautiful reflections. Inside we found the Museo del Banco Central, which contains the country's largest collection of art. It told the history of Ecuador and its climate. It also contained an amazing collection of pottery, ancient carvings, and a wonderful selection of metalwork, including jewelry, fans, hairpieces in gold, copper and platinum. One area of the museum houses religious statues and artwork.
We had dinner at the Mercado Central, one of the most reasonable places to eat in the area. We stopped at Jimmy's for seabass and rice, cold shrimp ceviche soup, and some great fruit drinks.
All in all, a very good start for our Ecuador adventure1
Advertisement
Tot: 0.085s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 12; qc: 60; dbt: 0.0539s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Richard and Gail
non-member comment
Ecuadorian adventure
Is rain typical winter weather in Quito? With the altitude, do they get snow? All those fresh juice stands sound wonderful.