Last holiday I had a chance to visit Quito with my cousin and parents, who is

Ecuadorian herself. We were fortunate enough to stay with her family for most
of our trip so I cant comment on the hotels in Quito. What I did want to share is
my great experience in exploring the City!

First, I have to say I was very overwhelmed at how large the City of Quito is!
Even my parents, who havent been there for 10 years, was surprised at how
much it had grown. Quito can be broken up into 3 major parts; southern,
northern, and central Quito. The southern part of Quito is considered to be the
older part of Quito. The southern area of Quito is pretty distinctly located. If
you have gone through the tunnels, you are there.

The northern area of Quito is the area that is developing more modernly and
has many more tourist areas. I was surprised at how many large-scale shopping
malls there are and how modern they looked! There are also a lot of pedestrian
oriented neighborhoods with streets full of bars, clubs and restaurants. We
went to La Foch for a night and had a blast! The alcohol and cover charges to
the clubs are all pretty cheap and the drinks are strong! We had a local drink
there called La Cascada, which means waterfall. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! In this
area of the City you can also find many American chain restaurants and hotels
like TGI Fridays, the Sheraton and the Marriot.

The most fascinating part of the City for me was central Quito, the old colonial
area. I may be a little biased in that my background is in urban planning and
development, but I believe anyone would find a tour through the colonial
downtown district a great experience! From the cobblestone streets, to the
cathedrals, to the vast plazas, you really get a feel for the history of the City.
Whats really cool is if you can make it up to El Panicello, you can get a great
aerial view of the City and see how it grew from a colonial grid city to a plan
as we go city. Really fascinating stuff!

My only regret is that we didnt have more time to stay and explore. We did
however get a chance to spend a couple of days in a jungle resort, which was
fantastic!!! The resort is called Hosteria Misahualli Jungle Lodge and it is in the
small town of Misahualli, which is just a few hours outside of Quito. That place
is amazing!