a weekend in quito

After a one-day "week" of class, the weekend arrived yet again! Instead of jetting off to yet another beach or to go jump off some more bridges, we spent the weekend exploring Quito, something that I haven't had the opportunity to do often since I've been here. My friend Alice Ann's boyfriend Casey was visiting, so we got to show off the city to him.

FRIDAY
- Slept in! And, of course, spent some time on Facebook
- Went to the Hospital de los Niños with my friend Tyler to look into volunteering there
- Met up with my friends Tim and Cole to meet up with AA, Casey, and Shannon in Centro Histórico
- Finally got to explore Centro Histórico again (after the traumatic robbery of last month)

 

- Went to the black market to get Cole a new cell phone (saw nice D-SLR cameras being sold for $250!! and I kept an eye out for my own camera)
- Dinner at Pizza SA -- best pizza in Quito, I swear, not to mention they have pretty great sangria
- Headed to La Ronda, a winding cobblestone road lined with tiendas selling canelazo (hot alcoholic beverage famous in Ecuador, flavored with different fruits - imagine alcoholic cider), empanadas and chocolate. So much fun strolling down the cobblestone streets, sipping on canelazo, and enjoying the night. Reminded me a little bit of the callejoneada in Guanajuato City, MX

Cheers to canelazo!

SATURDAY
- Headed in the morning with AA, Casey, and Johnny to the mercado in Parque Ejido, a park that has a market set up on the weekends, as well as artists with their amazing artwork lining the streets. Bought 2 pairs of "Ecua pants" (colorful pajama pants that may or may not be the most comfortable things I've ever worn), a painted cross and picture frame, and a headband
- Walked over to Mercado Artesanial near la Mariscal and bought Ray Ban aviators
- Lunch at Café Amazonas, a little break from Ecua food
- Headed to Quicentro (the huge mall) to show Casey, then went and relaxed in Parque Carolina

- Spent most of the rest of the afternoon/evening watching movies in bed, wearing my new Ecua pants
- My parents had 4 of their friends (2 couples), along with their kids, over for dinner last night. Lorena (my mom, who's 29) made quesadillas and guacamole that were delicious. One of the couples was Argentinian, and the other was Cuban, so it was a very international dinner table. After dinner, we had delicious flan, also made by Lorena, and then sat around chatting and drinking coffee. Our conversations ranged anywhere from parenting (to which I had nothing to contribute) to the drinking habits of Cubans to the English language to OCD and how one of the women was like Monica on "Friends." We finished the night with about 2 hours of Texas Hold 'Em. It was really fun hanging out with Lorena and Guille's friends, especially because they're all fairly young, and even though they have kids, I didn't feel too out of place.

Today, I went to church for the first time in a month -- traveling makes it hard to go regularly. Then, Ashley and I went on a walk around Parque Carolina, which is packed with adults, kids, and dogs on Sundays. The plan for the rest of the day seems to be homework and movie watching!