Today we experimented with public transportation. By familiarizing ourselves with transportation we opened the doors to exploring Ecuador. The trolleys and buses cost .25 cents each trip but there are the long buses that are about $1.00 an hour. We took the trolley to Parque La Carolina (Carolina Park) which is a 165 acre park in the Quito central business district. We were on a shopping center touring mission so we did not have much time to spend in the park but plan to go  back to tour the botanical gardens some other day.

First shopping stop was Centro de Shopping Ińaquito. This was a huge shopping center and I saw many things I want to go back and possibly purchase, but our only real purchase was a HDMI cable so we could connect a computer to the TV so we would be able to watch the Packer game on Sunday. This center has so many children’s activities from face painting to riding little animal cars it was amazing. Besides all the kids activities the majority of shops were for shoes, followed closely by women’s clothing, and then the normal mix of everything else. Next we walked over to Quicentro Shopping Center and the first store I saw when walking in was Tiffany and Company the entire shopping mall was high end fashions and totally amazing. Again most of the shops were shoes and women’s clothing followed by “all the rest”. Our only purchase here was coffee and scones at the Juan Valdez coffee shop. It seems like Juan Valdez is the Starbucks of Ecuador and quite honestly I love it just as much as Starbucks. Well except nobody speaks English and all the menus are in Spanish. Even the mall security guards in their gold rimmed top hats did not speak English. (Good thing I know how to ask where the bathrooms are!) Our Spanish is coming back, but not as fast as we would like it to.

We took a bus to the Mariscal district with plans to visit Finn McCool’s Irish Pub and Sports Bar. Unfortunately we didn’t bring the map nor did we remember the street it was on so after walking a few more miles we took a taxi home. (Some taxis have meters – those are the easy ones – most don’t.) This was the first time I asked how much it cost, after that we more just estimated and gave the driver what we were willing to pay. Usually about $4.00 which includes a generous tip.

So did you hear the one about the Englishman, the Australian and the Canadian? OK me either but these three are the founders and owners of Finn’s where we did end up going back to for an early dinner. We both ordered the Ecuadorian Potato, Cheese and Avocado soup. It is wonderful and again I wish I had taken a picture. I must get this recipe. It was nice to speak English with a few of the Australian’s there for the big game but honestly we are relieved we have the means to get the Packer game in our flat. Finn’s is a fun place but way to noisy and crowded for our football viewing pleasure.