Quito's New Town

Parque El Ejido
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The highlight of my trip to Ecuador (and in my opinion, ANY trip to Ecuador) was visiting the Galapagos Islands.  That being said, I didn't want to visit this exciting country and see only one location.  Quito also beckons with so much to offer:  the colonial Old Town (an actual UNESCO World Heritage site), numerous shopping areas, not to mention its gorgeous location sprawled amongst the mountains.  So before we headed to the Galapagos, we chose to have one full day in New Town to see some sites.

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We stayed at La Cartuja Hotel, which has an excellent location in New Town.  Just stepping onto the street from our hotel's front step, we were able to see Parque El Ejido and so get oriented very easily.  We headed out to shop in one direction, then passed by the hotel again on our way to the park, meaning we could drop things off at our room easy as pie!

Is anything open on Sundays?

Sadly, the day we chose to wander around New Town was Sunday - and most stores do not stay open on Sunday.  So, our planned shop-and-walk around the Mariscal Sucre area turned into a walk-and-look venture.  Still enjoyable.  The area just seemed dead, it was so quiet and deserted!  We spent some time trying to find specific stores and cafes my Rough Guide to Ecuador recommended, but most were either un-findable or closed because it was Sunday.  We were able to find Magic Bean, hotel and cafe, so we chose that location for lunch.  We were also pleased to find Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal, a giant market arcade that just keeps going and going...after awhile you see the same items over and over, but that's ok when they are items you like!  The market was really good for cheap jewelry, leather goods, shirts, and cheesy souvenirs.

We really enjoyed walking through Parque El Ejido, which has an art market on its outskirts during the weekends.  There was no way we would be able to purchase and take home large paintings, but it was fun to stroll through the park on a sunny day and observe the locals and tourists and gaze at the bright colors and works of art.  I liked that the park seemed to be used by lots of local families, as well as other shopping tourists.  There were more vendors lined up in little green tented booths close to where the art was displayed - more souvenir shopping!  My friend got a gorgeous pendant necklace there.

The other activity we did this day was visit El Museo del Banco Central.  The museum came highly recommended by both of my travel books on Ecuador (Lonely Planet and Rough Guides) but we both found it disappointing, actually!  The Sala de Oro was closed, as was the Contemporary Art Exhibition.  It was only $2 to get in, but we walked through the whole thing in less than an hour.  Meh.