06/10/12

We woke up early feeling the effects of jet lag but once we were ready Mario gave us a tour of the hostel. We were offered a different room upstairs but prefered our room downstairs so decided to stay where we were for the time being. We will move when a double room becomes available, as the upstairs is more of a hostel, with a kitchen, bathroom and lounge for guests whereas downstairs feels little like intruding on their home!

We went out for a walk passing our local supermarket and we ended up in La Mariscal - the backpackers' area. This area is full of bars, clubs, restaurants and shops but it was very quiet today, maybe due to the rain. The same rain had Neil and I taking shelter in a local cafe indulging in a hot chocolate and a coffee - guess who had what??

We were on the hunt for a guide book so we went into a few shops but I refused to pay 100 dollars requested for a new one! I was so pleased when we found 'the English bookshop' and nabbed a guidebook for 26 dollars! The owner was a man from Essex so we had a chat with him before moving on - it's always nice to talk to someone from home.

On the way back to the hostel we returned to the supermarket to do our first weekly shop in 6 months! Most things were the same but it's weird the different prices for some things compared to home when looking at imported good and local produce. We carried the heavy bags back and unpacked before cooking a meal for the first time in 6 months! It was rather early but after eating our dinner in front of a film we decided to get an early night due to the jet lag.

07/10/12

Again we got up bright and eary as our body clocks are still not on Quito time. We ate a delicious lunch of eggs on toast before venturing out again. This time we wanted to walk to where Neil's Spanish classes would be, so he knew where he was going tomorrow. It was a strange walk, mostly because it was so quiet but also because we were so breathless due to the altitude. We found the meeting point for Neil's tutor without too much bother and then walked down to Santa Clara Market. We wandered around and bought some peppers and chillis from a stall for a dollar - bargain! We then made our way a different way back to the hostal stopping at McDonalds for a new Toblerone McFlurry - Yum! Again we had another relaxed evening before another early night.

08/10/12

HAPPY 1ST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY HUBBY!!

We woke up early for Neil's first morning of classes. I kissed him goodbye, wished him luck and instantly missed him. It's weird when you are with someone constantly, you miss them so much when they are not there! I spent the morning relaxing and making myself beautiful (not hard I know!) for our anniversary date.

I met Neil at the end of the road - he seemed happy with his first class - so we made our way to an Italian for lunch where we enjoyed Gnocci and Lasagna with a few glasses of wine - Bliss! Thanks to Len and Hilary for their wedding contribution of a meal in Quito!

After lunch we went to the Mariscal for another drink before heading back to the hostal. We stopped at the supermarket for some snacks (called Nips - like M and M's!) and enjoyed an evening chilling in front of the TV. It may not sound like an exciting anniversary to most but after 7 months without a TV or sofa, and the last 6 weeks in a tent, this was heaven!!

09/10/12

Another early start and relaxing morning for me. I moved our rooms so we are now near the kitchen, bathroom and lounge - much more comfortable. It was a nice surprise for Neil when he returned as I had packed, moved and unpacked everything.

We grabbed a quick lunch before going for a walk. we decided to walk towards the shopping centres in search of new hoodies as Quito is quite cold. We looked around all the shops but sadly came away empty handed. We had a rest stop of coffee and ice-cream (guess who had what!?) before walking back. Walking back seemed to take ages but our spirits were lifted as we managed to withdraw some cash! We'd earlier been panicked as none of the ATMs seemed to accept our card - phew - panic over!

Back at the hostal we enjoyed cooking a nice tea before we settled down to some more TV.

10/10/12

Another lazy morning for me whole Neil was at class. We were both a bit tired today so headed down to the Mariscal's main square - Plaza Foch - where we had a menu del dia (cheap menu of the day either 2 or 3 courses - best way to eat in South America!) each. We enjoyed a long chat and a few drinks. It's nice to feel like 'us' again instead of being part of a tour group.

After lunch, we did what we do best, wandered around and got lost in the local streets. We walked back to the hostal as the rains came to continue the chilling theme in front of the TV.

11/10/12

I was pleased to have a focus today as I was going to walk to meet Neil out of class. I enjoyed the walk and smiled as I saw my husband walking down the hill towards me. We then made our way on foot to the Unesco heritage site of the old town. We turned and walked up a steep hill towards the Basillica del Voto National stopping for lunch on the way.

We ate lunch at a local place where you order a number, all set meals including a drink, for bargain prices. We both ate for $4 and it was sensational! After this we paid $1 each to enter the beautiful Basillica and enjoyed having a look around inside. It has amazing stained glass windows which really caught my eye - you can get up close and personal to one of the windows but we decided to save this for another day. From the outside the towers are very imposing and can be seen from miles around the city.

We wandered around some more taking in Plaze Grande and stopping in Plaza San Francisco for a drink and some people watching. I love seeing all the local traditional Ecuadorians dress - little hats, skirts, white socks, shawls and pigtails. We started to make the long walk back to the hostal and it was a good job we did as I started to suffer from what I think was the start of a migrane on the walk home.

My vision became fuzzy, my head hurt and I got really cold. After wrapping up, having a rest and taking some pain killers i finally felt well enough to help Neil prepare dinner. I ate and got back into bed really early to try and get rid of this horrible feeling.

12/10/12

When Neil returned from class he informed me that it was Bank Holiday today and also that there was a World Cup qualifier between Ecuador and Chile at the local stadium. We were both really disapointed we hadn't known about it earlier as we'd have like to have gone to the game.

We decided to have a quiet afternoon so ate our lunch at the hostal and then went out for a walk. We decided to stay fairly local and enjoyed getting lost again. We returned via the supermarket for snacks and set up camp in front of the match.

We had noticed while we had been out the number of poeople dressed in Educador football tops, men , women and children showing a huge amount of national pride. We enjoyed watching the game and seeing Ecuador win 3-1 just made us wish we had been at the stadium even more!

We eventually moved from the sofa and went to bed looking forward to our weekend together! Cant believe we have been here a week already!

Lots of love xxx