Last full day in Ecuador: looking for a backpack, Old Town and great dinner :)

As usual, I woke up early, but the rest of the gang didn't do it so, hehehe. So I took a shower and decided to enjoy the sunny day and go for a walk before having breakfast at the hostel. By the time I left, it was already 8:30am. La Mariscal looks so different early in a Monday morning, than during the weekend's nights. Now, I could see the different buildings and watch people mostly in their way to work. There are several offices nearby.

Plaza Foch looked so quiet without all the bright lights and people inviting you to enter to the restaurants and bars. Although a couple of places were open, they changed their signs saying "Happy Hour" for "Breakfast" ones, hahaha. But not many were open, the one that couldn't have been missing was the 24hrs coffee house, hehehe. Anyway, I decided to keep on walking and leave behind the party area.

Mmm, since this was a touristy area there should be backpacks' stores. I saw a couple open and started to ask for prices. I'd like to buy a big backpack and maybe I could do it here. Oh well, not many places were open yet, but I could always come back later. I found the firefighter station, a police station and then I realized it was getting late. Before going back to the hostel, I found a cabin to make a phone call. I talked to my colleague, who was in his way to Lima. I had to be honest and let him know I was in Ecuador, hehehe. In case he wanted to call me. But I assure, I'd be back in town tomorrow morning and we'd meet at noon. Just don't say anything to my boss or people at the office, shhhh. He's a great guy, so no problem. I trust him :)

I arrived to the hostel and Shawn and me went for breakfast just 10min they stopped serving it, ufff. It was a good one. There were coffee, tea, milk, bread, butter and jam for you to take as much as you want. A lady prepared juice and eggs for every guest. Usually people at a hostel are superfriendly, but this lady was the exception. She even said: "Tray! Is almost time to close!" OMG! So rude... Definitely, I didn't want to make her upset, hehe.

Anyway, Shawn and Jen would go to the teleferiqo, while I would go to a mall - how boring... well, I'd go there to look for my big backpack. I want a Colombian brand that I can't find in Lima, but they have stores in Quito. So, I'd go and take a look. I asked for some directions in order to go to the closest mall: Quicentro. Well, I just had to take the Ecovia - trolley. My bus stop was the "Olimpic Stadium". Cool, I haven't seen this part of the city before, yay! Who said that going shopping is not a good idea for sightseeing? hehehe.

Well, a mall is a mall and I didn't have much luck, since I didn't find the backpack I was looking for. Oh well. I'd look for it in Lima. I talked to Shawn and they just arrived to the Teleferiqo, so I still had plenty of time before we met for lunch. So, I decided to go back, but not to the hostel, but to the "Casa de la Cultura", which is a complex where you can find different museum. That would be nice. By this time, I was an expert with the trolley and found my way easy ;)

This complex is located in a park and you can easily see a big glass building. I was so excited when I saw the name of the most important museum: "Museo Nacional de Ecuador", but they were closed on Monday! Oh no!!! Well, I was thinking that wasn't a big lost since Ecuadorian and Peruvian history are very similar to each other. Nevermind, I walked around the glass building and the park.

I was leaving and thinking how to go to Old Town, where I should meet the guys. That was about 15min walking from there, but I had plenty of time. So good I decided to walk since I found another building is this park. This one was called "Casa de la Cultura" and was an old house where there are exhibitions of new artists. Nice! It was open, free entrance, so let's go there and check it!

There weren't many people there... but the ones I met here were friendly. Apparently they don't have many guests, hehehe. Exhibition was nice, but it was time to keep on going. I didn't know that going to the Plaza Grande would be all the way up, uffff. Ok, let's do some exercise...

It's was fun though walking along the 6 de Diciembre Ave. This part of the city wasn't touristy at all. There are some public buildings like the "Justice Palace", "Job Ministery", "Estate Contralory", etc. And as everywhere in the world, these places were crowded, people waiting outside, lines and some food street vendors too. It was already 12:30pm. That was why I was getting hungry, lol. I talked to Shawn (it's so good having a local number) and he told me that he and Jen would go back to the hostel. She wasn't feeling well. The altitude was too much, ughhhh. Ok, no problem. I'd walk back to the hostel.

It would be a long walk, but I was thinking it'd take the guys longer to arrive to the hostel. Last time I wanted to visit the "Parque Ejido" a big park, but was close. Hopefully this time, I'd be able to see it, but no luck. They were building something underground, so this would take a long time... anyway it was nice walking along it. There where some wholes and I was able to take a look inside. Hehehe.

Going back took me longer than expected, since I found the backpacks' stores open and started to ask for prices. Also I found one and started to talk to the clerk, who didn't have any clue where I was from, hahaha. Well, we both were foreigners. He's Cuban, recently moved to Ecuador, but he works in Puerto Cayo at the coast. He teaches scuba diving there, cool! I might be going back there soon and would be amazing having a friend, super! Then came the owner and we started to talk about business, since we wanted to move to Peru. It was getting late and I told them I'd come back to drop my card and we'd be in touch.

Finally I arrived to the hostel. Jen was taking a nap. Shawn told me she started to feel sick when they were going up the hill. So bad, she couldn't enjoy much the view of the volcanoes. I was thinking about having lunch, but better give Jen some time to feel better. I started to pack and by the time I was ready, Shawn and me were starving, hahaha. We asked Jen if she'd like to eat something and she was feeling much better now and agreed to go for lunch with us.

We didn't have any idea where to go. We just knew we were hungry and would prefer to stay in this area of town. So, we ended up going to the Mongolian BBQ place I was wanting to try for so long, hehehe. Last time it was crowded and we couldn't go in, but now it was different! The waiter asked if we would eat or just have drinks, what? hahaha. Drinking at noon? hahaha. Well, this place is more famous because of the drinks than the food, lol. We ordered the lunch combination and it was very good. It was a better deal than having the BBQ. BBQ wasn't expensive, but we wouldn't eat that much also we were have already made plans - including a reservation - for dinner and we didn't want to ruin our appetite, hehehe. Shawn and Jen got miso soup and I got a salad for appetizer. For entrée I got a tasty shrimp kebab. I was still in my seafood mood. We have great seafood here in Peru, but the shrimps in Ecuador are soooo good!!! The waiter told me the shrimp would come unpeeled, that's the way they serve it.  I told him no problem, I could peel them by myself. But the told me, that if I wanted them unpeeled, they would peel them for me, how nice!

Food was very good and we were ready to leave. We didn't have to wait for the waiter, since here you pay right at the entrance to the cashier. Jen was feeling much better now. She might have needed just something to eat and a good nap. We'd go to Old Town. It was getting a bit cooler, so better going back to the hostel to grab something long sleeves just in case. But before going there I stopped at the backpacks' shop and left my business card to the owner. Before even leaving Ecuador, I got an email from him! And we might meet in Lima when he visits Peru for doing some research, nice!

We took a cab and went to Old Town. I was thinking about going first to the Plaza Grande (main square), but Shawn suggested me to go to the Basilica first, since it was on a hill and we wouldn't have to climb back when we visited it, good idea!!! I have already visited the Basilica, but it's always impressive. Something that caught my attention, was the fact that under the Basel there are many stores, small business. Most of them like hardware stores and even a remote controls' store, hahaha. Last time I went inside the Basel through the main door, but now it was closed, so it was fun to use the side doors, sweet! something new!

This Gothic building is amazing itself, but the highlight is to climb it and get an amazing view of the city. I did it just 1 month ago, so I'd prefer to wait for Shawn and Jen at the courtyard. Last time, I didn't have much time to walk around and now I'd like to do it. Before, I didn't pay attention enough. Now I noticed the weird gargoyles, instead of the regular ones they represented lamas, iguanas, turtles, interesting.

I saw some stairs and wondered where do they went. Then I read, that the Ecuadorian presidents were buried there, mmm. Don't know how long I spent just admiring the Basilica. It's really pretty. Then I looked up and saw Jen & Shawn taking pics, very very tiny, hehehe. Well, they were still 1/2 way to the top, so I had some time to kill. There is a cafeteria at the courtyard and it had restrooms! hahaha. So let's go there and grab something. I was expecting they overcharging since they were the only one in a really touristy place, but not at all. The girls were really friendly too. I got a mora (blackberry) juice and sat down just to read. It didn't take long until Shawn called saying they were already down. Nice! Jen enjoyed the view very much, how cool!

Now, start walking to Plaza Grande, after a small detour we arrived to it, hahaha. It was 4 something and it was a bit cloudy. It's a shame since it looks really pretty when it's sunny, but anyway it was nice and crowded. Shawn and me were the locals, showing Jen around and I was pointing all the main buildings to her, hahaha. Jerry was a good teacher ;) Then I saw a building with the Ecuadorian flag. I remember that last time I didn't notice the President Residence, but this time I did. It's funny that under the presidential residence there are stores. Besides the fact of the guards at the entrance, the residence doesn't have anything else outrageous.

There was the Cathedral. After the Basilica, the Cathedral is not that impressive, but still nice. We were walking and taking pics. It'd have been very nice to go inside the Cathedral, but there were some maintenance work going on, bad luck... Oh well, there are many beautiful churches near by. In fact, behind the Cathedral, there's another one, El Sagrario, which used to be part of the Cathedral. We went inside and the Baroque style was great. This church reminded me a lot to the churches in Cusco. Well, after all we both were Spanish colonies. I was enjoying it and Shawn told me to wait until his favorite church. If I like this one, I'd love that one more.

Our next stop was "La Compañia de Jesus" church. The one Shawn was talking about. This one was the only one we had to pay a fee in order to go inside. I approached and asked for 3 tickets. Jen was the only one who had to pay as tourist. Shawn and me got the local fee, hahaha. It wasn't my intention to lie, they assumed I was local and I let them believe what they wanted, hehehe. Shawn was so right about this church. As the other it was Baroque too. Lots of Religious art but the biggest difference was that almost everything here was made with gold! We were even making fun, how many people should work here just polishing and how bright it would look when it was just polished. They should wear sunglasses, hahaha. Seriously, this church was really neat. And there was also an exhibition of the bells and in some parts you could see the real colors of the walls. Paying a fee was worth!

Old Town has really nice buildings and there were other squares and also more churches, but we had already our dose of churches for the week, hehehe. Ok, better let's move. Where? What about the Itchimbia? Shawn and me went there my first time in Quito and you get a really nice view from there. It was getting a bit cooler and going to a cafe and having a nice cup of warm coffee sounded really good. We took a cab and went to the Itchimbia. It wasn't far away, but traffic was heavy.

Finally we arrived and started to take some pics. I've been here before but at night time, now it looked different. Taxi driver left us at the point view and we took some pics. It was 5pm something and we'd look for a cafe. I saw the one we went last time and had bad service, so we'd skip that haha. There was another one next to it, but they weren't open yet... Then we found another one with a great view  and they were open! Yay! let's try that!

This place was perfect! When we walked inside, I felt the incense - nice! Place was empty, it was still early. Oh well, better for us, we could choose the best table. Instead of having a regular wall, they have a glass wall and the view of the city is awesome! The other cafe has tables outside, but not it was so much better to be behind a glass, since it was a bit chilly. Super!

We ordered coffee for Jen & Shawn and I got a mora juice, yes again! hahaha. We weren't hungry. At least Shawn claimed that at same time he was checking the menu, hahaha. Ok, let's have a small a snack and I found the perfect thing: Mini Empanadas. They were 2 types: verde (plantain) and morocho (rice). I haven't tried the 2nd one ever. Cool! The girl came with our drinks and the snacks. They were tasty, one stuffed with meat and the other with cheese. Yes, they were small, but perfect size just to try a new flavor and not ruining our apetite for dinner, hehehe.

We stayed there around 1 hour and then decided to go back to the hostel. I'd like to finish packing since I was leaving early next morning. It'd be nice to fresh up and just chill out. Packing was ready and even had time to check my email. Shawn was working on their future flight to the coast and arranging some things he had to do at the farm. Well, it was time to go to the restaurant. Our reservation was for 8pm and didn't want to be late :)

Well the rest of the entry would be our dinner experience. We arrived at 8 o'clock and got a table next to the window. View was great! I loved the decoration here, funky, so colorful. Every single corner has something trendy. Love it!!!! The guy took us to our table, next to the glass as requested, nice! Table was a bit small, specially considering the size of the menus, hahaha. They were huge and heavy. They were nice and colorful. All the dishes looked so tasty... the only problem is that the menu wasn't in order, so one moment you were checking the appetizers, then the desserts and back to appetizers, hahaha.

Our waitress came and we ordered juices, we had enough wine last night hahaha, and appetizers to share. Better sharing our dishes, so we'd be able to try more, hehehe. After a while thinking and discussing, we agreed to try the: Octopus Carpaccio, Cabrinni Mushrooms (stuffed mushrooms) and the stuffed yucas. This would be first Octopus for Jen. First our juices arrived. They were big and with a lovely presentation.

Then our appetizers. They looked and tasted very good, so yummy!!! The octopus was very good and not chewy, which is the problem that you can have with octopus. The mushrooms was very tasty, the goat cheese was really good. The yucas are usually stuffed with cheese, but here they were stuffed with shrimp and crab. Like them! Ok, better eat slowly, so we wouldn't get full soon, hahaha.

Now, time to order entrees. We agreed to do the same, order 2 dishes and share them. So good I decided to keep a menu with us, hahaha. Actually I had to put it on the floor next to me, so we'd have enough room on our table, hahaha. The waitress took our empty dishes, used forks and knives. In the meanwhile we were deciding what to order and finally made our mind.

While we were waiting for our food, I went to explore the restaurant and take some pics. This place is so cool! It wasn't crowded, so I didn't feel umconfortable at all, just going upstairs and downstairns, hehehe. Part of the crew were tourists and the locals are used to crazy tourists taking pics of this place, hahaha.

Before bringing the food, the waitress came with new silverware. We were making fun that the poor dishwasher might be wondering who are the people using so many forks for one meal, hahaha. Oh well...

Then she came with 2 big plates that could barely fit on our tiny table: Moussaka Khan (tempura eggplant with mushrooms) with salad as side followed by the "Million Dollar baby" (stuffed clams). The Moussaka was very good with lots of cheese and the stuffed clams' Gruyère cheese made the perfect combination. It was a lot of food and we got full. Ok, better take a break. We saw so tempting desserts and wanted to try them, so give it some time before ordering them :P

We ordered some water and our desserts. Yes, this was just gluttony... but was my last night in Quito... so it was allowed, hehehe. First came my orange crepe and since the guys' desserts were taking longer, we'd share it. It was light and tasty. Perfect for me. I didn't want something too heavy.

Now the rest of our order came. Shawn's bananarama - banana's dessert and Jen's pineapple one. OMG. They both looked very good. Specially Jen's one. Her dessert was the winner, definitely. The fresh berries were the perfect match for the sweetness and the almonds, so tasty...

OMG! This was a lot of food. We could barely move, hahaha. Ok, this place isn't cheap, but really worth it. Just pamper your self and have a fancy dinner :) Before leaving the restaurant we took a walk around it, to take pics and recover the movement of our legs, hahaha. This dinner was the longest: almost 3hrs!!! hahaha.

Back to the hostel after a small walk, sat the alarm clock - a taxi would come for me at 4:30am! and went to bed. Tomorrow would be a loooong day. Flying back to Lima and then straight to work. ..