Quito ... I must admit I was wrong about the city. Not that it suddenly turned into a clean, super safe, bustling metropolis. Quito remains Quito. But given enough time, one starts to like this city. It is a charming South American city where some of the old trades that have disappeared in the "old world" still remain.
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| "Limpia Botas" - shoe shiners |
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| Good old fashion barber shops |
Quito has a lot to offer. Several art expos going on (2012 South America's culture capital).
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| Local Artist displaying his work |
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| Photos of African servitude in Ecuador |
The presidential palace, the basilica, several parks and an array of small cafés and restaurants that cater for all tastes and budgets.
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| Presidential Palace in the background |
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| One of many gifts to current president Rafael Correa |
The Mariscal area is a favourite amongst tourists ... drinks are expensive, sports cafés show live European football and all bar tenders speak English.
Many travel agencies (Agencia Tourismo) have set quarters there and offer every kind of day trips and tours imaginable. We've booked our trip to the Amazon rain forest there.
Getting from there to our neighbourhood is a $3 taxi ride or if you feel more adventurous a whopping 25cts bus extravaganza. I've had my pant pockets inspected by all manner of pickpockets, I must say (having seen a lady pickpocket in action) : they are impressive !
Anyway last item on the menu : food! I love it. There are obviously the European/American stuff like pizzas and hamburgers but we have been (over)indulging in the cheap, high saturated fat high cholesterol diet ... rice, beans and fried chicken - miam miam or fried pork, boiled potatoes and boiled maize cobs ... and freshly pressed fruit juices with an indecent amount of sugar added to it - it's PARADISE.
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| Ecuadorian version of "La Soupe Boulette Poisson" |
This is a special "dédicasse" to Mishana who asked if it were possible to post some pictures of the local food
(dear little sister look away now), there you go :
If you would like to see more pictures of Quito, follow this link :
ohmygod... u shameless person... u should've seen my jaw drop when i saw that pic! that's NOT what i meant when i said local food. lol. but i did ask for it... pfff. by the way i absolutely love ur articles so keep posting them! ;) my love to Roxana xxx
ReplyDeleteYeah well you want local food, you get local food. They're crazy about chicken here, all parts of it. Usually served with rice, lentils or beans and some salad. Looks very Mauritian actually.
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