First Day in Quito

Well it has been a wonderful first day in Quito got to go see the Basilica, many other churches, the Presedential Palace, the Equator (half way point on the world), and many other local sites! Unfortunately I forgot my camera memory card in my laptop this morning so I only got 5 pictures but am in some other photos of people in the groups too! It was awesome visiting the Basilica del Voto Nacional the stained glass was amazing and the "gargoyles" on the front are actually animals of Ecuador it was cool looking. We also visited the "Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus" which had 23 carat-gold leaf plating on EVERYTHING it was beautiful but they wouldn't let us take pictures. So far the people have been very nice down here and are fascinated with the 2 of us that have blonde hair haha! We also went to a mountain top called Teleferiqo de Quito where we could see almost all of Quito and its 2.5 million people. It was quite the site! We are thinking of maybe going back to that when we return to hike into one of the inactive volcanoes (don't worry moms its inactive!) for a day trip or maybe even an overnight hiking trip. We ate at this awesome restaurant called Achoite (or something like that) and it was amazing I had a "Blue Beer" that was delicious and sauteed shrim in coconut sauce with "yucas" which are like delicious potato-y things! We then went to an authentic Ecuadorean bar called "Tequilla Sun Rise" and got watered down free shots and left because the place was kind of sketchy. Next we went to a good old Irish American Pub right across the street and drank local beers, margaritas, and such. It was much nicer than the "authentic" bar, it had a much friendlier atmosphere and the drinks were delicious and we could actually have a conversation and not have to yell over the music!


*Note: I will be posting my pictures on photobucket until i can figure out a more efficient way of posting them on here...the link is http://photobucket.com/lostintheparamo " now go enjoy all 6 pictures currently uploaded!"