Quito is the quintessential city you find in any modernised country...until you take a walk through the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The view from the Basilica is worth 1000 cows(you will know if you read my Quilotoa travelogue) if you have the courage to climb the steep stairs to the top of the clock tower. Offering sweeping views over the city including Cotopaxi peeking out with its white cap in the far distance, and the Virgen Aladad perched atop the bread loaf hill on what is called the Panecillo. This mirador is not for the faint-hearted or those afraid of heights for sure.
The interior of the La Compania church is decked out in gold from floor to ceiling...and to checkif it is real gold or just gold paint, i started scratching the murals and nearly got booted out of the church for doing that. It is actually thin pieces of gold measuring about 5x5cm plastered all over the walls, pulpits, ceiling, carvings and murals. The restoration progress has been going on for eons but the church really looked resplendent and decadent in its gold glory. Worth going to be blinded by all that bling bling gold.
Going to the malls here is like shopping back home...you get your Diesel and Miss Sixty and I felt like a raggedy homeless person next to all the nicely scrubbed and Gucci toting ladies who sweep past the malls in leisure. Ecuadorian men and women dress well and very sexily too. Very different from Peru and Bolivia.
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