I Heart the Food...Oh, and The Historical Sites Too!

Warning: Because this computer´s main language is Spanish, it can´t check my spelling. So, unfortunately for me, you all are going to learn just how bad I am at this kind of important skill! No really. You´ll be surprised...but don´t judge me! :)

Wow, so I feel like it´s been a long time since I wrote yesterday! I have much to report. And don´t worry, I´m writing a lot now because there is internet in the hostel, but I don´t think I´ll have this kind of access everywhere! :) Soooooo...I did venture out into the New Town of Quito yesterday afternoon. I´m staying in an neighborhood called La Mariscal. I walked around with the main intention of eating (my FAVORITE thing to do!). It did feel a little strange to walk around alone. KT, I think the song you like to sing would have been appropriate for yesterday - ¨one of these kids is not like the other ones...¨ :) But I felt safe and whatnot. So I kept passing all these places holding out for the little cafe that called out to me, ¨I´m the one!¨ Unfortunately, I learned quickly that cafes can´t talk! :) And by then, my quest was quickly interrupted by a massive rain. I had to stand under a little ledge for about 30 mins to avoid getting completely soaked. I ended up running into a tiny little shop owned by a woman named ¨Shadow¨. She was tiny and sweet, and we chatted about the weather and the three dogs that she stays busy cooking for each day. What ¨lucky dogs¨, no?

So when the rain lightened up a bit I headed back towards the hostel. I ended up going back to the very first cafe I passed - Crear´e. I was so hungry and they were so nice and welcoming. It was a very tiny kitched with 3 small tables.I talked with them and found out that they are a family. A young couple and su madre. I was practicing my spanish, like a good girl, but noticed that the girl spoke english too. Turns out she grew up in a little place called...California :) and moved to Quito 3 years ago! I´m sure her hombre had something to do with that. But they were the sweetest people and I stayed there and chatted and ate for over an hour. The meal was so good and fresh!!! I had a vegetarian quesadilla with a cucumber salad, freshly made papas fritas (french fries - mi favorita!), and a freshly made melon juice. Wow! It was awesome! They said to come back for a beer later, but I couldn´t make any promises...I was TIRED!

I forgot that Quito is high (2,600 ft above sea level), and that combined with all the no sleeping and travel was making me feel seriously drugged. I went back to the hostel and slept from 5:30 to 7:30pm, only to wake up and go back to bed from 9:30pm to 8:00am! Wow! That was awesome! And I have to say that the quiet, tranquil place I described yesterday did pep up a bit...you know the usual, crying babies, barking dogs, and music :) but that couldn´t stop me from getting my sleep on. I was dead!...in the best way possible.

So today I woke up, had my first shower where I used Dr. Bronner´s magic peppermint soap to clean my body, hair AND teeth! haha. That can´t be good. And then had breakfast downstairs. I learned that Carlos, the owner of the hostel, was born in this house and his family lived here for many years. After his grandparents became ill (and presumably passed away) he turned the house into a hostel, just 2 years ago. So he has a lot of history here...pretty cool, I thought.

And at breakfast I met Ken, who I found out is traveling with his partner, Sandy, to Santiago with me. The three of us ended up taking the local bus (interesting and cheap) to Old Town, which really IS the heart of the city (I think I mis-spoke yesterday). Old Town is very beautiful. La Plaza de Independencia was beautiful with mini-gardens and trees and the surrounding buildings, including where the President works are very pretty. We also visited La Plaza San Francisco and went inside La Compania de Jesus, which was a built in 1553 (although there was a fire and it had to be reconstructed) and is the most ornate church I´ve ever seen. We ate empanadas de verdes and tamales con pollo (also yummy!) and then took a taxi to the top of El Panecillo, where you can see the entire city.

The view was interesting because you could see just how densely populated Quito is (apparently there are more people per square kilometer than any other city in South America), but I was more intriged by the ¨wild¨ dogs and kids running around. I swear I saw a kid that couldn´t have been more than 2 feet tall (walking with candy and ciggarettes!...followed by 2 dogs) walk down a steep stone wall, onto a grass ledge, and then disappear again over a hill. I don´t know why that amazed me. I guess you just would never see a kid do that in the states because his mother would kill him!

So we came back and had a jugo de tomate at Crear´e and now I´m back at the hostel...and surprisingly hungry again! :) p.s. didn´t meet Virginia from New Zealand, but saw her and she looks like a nice older woman. So far I´m the youngest in the group (Ken and Sandy look to be in their thirties), but I´ve only seen 3 people! Ok, bye for now!!!