Last year, before JJ came into our lives we took several trips. One of them was to a place we’d had on our “bucket list” for a while. The Galapagos. Being born and raised on an island, places like Easter Island have always fascinated me. So, of course we had to do the Galapagos. There were basically two ways to get there, it was either Guayaquil or Quito. After doing some research, I thought Quito would be a good starting point.
Well, getting there from San Diego was going to be interesting. We’d be flying Delta with Hartsfield as our transfer point. Man, Hartsfield….during the 90’s, I did consulting work in ATL, and Hartsfield was the airport….it’s always been crazy busy!
Well, at least we’d be flying domestic first, then international business, which means things were a bit elevated.
The actual lounge was a bit less crowded than I recalled.
With a decent selection of food.
So that made the three hour layover a bit easier to handle.
The flight from ATL to Quito was 5 1/2 hours and seemed to go by quickly.
I arranged for a private transfer from the airport to where we were staying the JW Marriott in Quito. I was using accumulated points for this and we had access to the Club Lounge which made things really easy.
It made arriving at 9pm at night and the check in a breeze.
Along with the lounge there was a rather popular restaurant in the hotel, though we never had to visit. The property was huge….like it’s own little city.
My guess is that it is set-up so folks wouldn’t have to leave the property.
The Executive Lounge was quite large and it was never full during our stay.
It had a nice view….
And made having a nice, light breakfast so convenient.
Since we had limited time in Quito; I arranged for a private tour….actually three private tours for our days in Ecuador. This would end up being such fun! I organized the tours based on what we’d be doing…in other words, first I’d want us to just get acquainted….then to expand our horizons so to say. On our first day, I booked us a Private City Tour of Quito, Teleferico, and the Middle of the World. We were asked about our interests and mentioned that we enjoy learning about food and cuisine. So, our first stop was the large Mercado Santa Clara.
Where we were able to taste some of the local products….
The most interesting was the Tamarillo aka “Tree Tomato”, a member of the nightshade family. It was quite puckery and acidic; the skin pretty thick.
Also quite interesting was what they called the “Taxo”, also know as the Banana Passion Fruit.
Slightly sweet, acidic, and mildly fruity.
This was a fun way to start our tour of Quito.
Mercado Santa Clara
RG22+473 Antonio de Ulloa
Quito, Ecuador
In any city, there are things that are every day occurrences and Quito is no different. While driving up one of the streets our guide pointed something out to us saying; “I don’t think you see this in San Diego, huh?”
Can you imagine someone walking goats here? Well, maybe in North Park??? jjk….
Next stop was on the western side of the city. Along the eastern side of Pichincha Volcano, would you believe that the western side…Wawa Pichincha is still active, is the TeleferiQo, a cable car.
Here the 20 minute or so ride brings you up to over 12,950 feet. Making it one of the highest in the world. Quito itself is at around 9,250 feet.
Needless to say, the views, even on a slightly cloudy day are outstanding.
And, it’s even dog friendly…..
There a famous six mile trail that goes to the top of Pichincha ending at 15,400 feet….I’m glad we didn’t have time to do this one! Whew…..
Once back at 9,000 feet elevation we headed off. We stopped near the north side of the city at this little shop; Panificadora Quito.
Where the Missus got a Helados break!
Panificadora Quito
Av. Manuel Córdova Galarza
Quito, Ecuador
After which it was time to head to…..”the Center of the World!”
Thanks for stopping by!
Which turned out to be true…at least for me. Man, look at all that pork! The pork was nicely seasoned; though, at least for me, I'm all about proportion and balance of flavor and frankly, this was just too much pork, and where's the jamon? And the bread was just not up to the task as it got really mushy plus all of the pork muted the pickles. And was there even mustard on this….I do like a good counter-point to the rich pork. Still, if you want a very porky sandwich, here it is….. It's just not the kind of Cubano I enjoy.
The rice was perfect, but the sauce was greasier and milder in poultry flavor than what we'd had earlier and the turkey meat was more chewy/tough as well. 
And even though it seemed pretty busy along the whole 500 meter route, there was a laid back vibe to things. And so, we actually enjoyed this night market more than the 
The woman working was quite a good salesperson. She saw the Missus and I walk up and immediately started conversing with the Missus. And apparently this tactic worked as we got a Hujiao Bing – a pepper bun. 
As you walk within the park, you'll come across amazing trees. An example would be the "three generation tree". Where one tree grew upon another, each serving as a base for the next generation, a symbol for all who some here.
There were very nice wooden paths and bridges making Alishan a very easy visit. Perhaps too easy for the Missus as She was getting kinda bored with the whole place. Whereas I enjoyed the view and the trees. Oh the stories they could tell!
It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, loved the beefiness. I was told this is grass fed beef, so I expected it to be more toothsome. The cauliflower was delicious; at least that's what the Missus said as She quickly poached them all from the plate. The jalapeno mashed potatoes were quite creamy and not really spicy at all.
Man, these were super stuffed, full of porky goodness, hint of sweet- savory tones, and wrapped with rice paper. It was slightly more chewy than I prefer, but man, the overall package was much better than anything here is San Diego. This also heated up well in the air fryer!