It was already Tuesday and this day was our last full day in Quito. We had a flight back to Guayaquil the next day later afternoon. We planned on spending the whole day in Centro Histórica and wanted to visit: Palacio del Gobierno, Palacio de Carondelet and the Museo de Quito among other places.
We had our usual simple breakfast to start the day and stopped by the rooftop to check out the views of the city. It was another beautiful day in Quito. The temperature was a cool 21C.
We had our usual simple breakfast to start the day and stopped by the rooftop to check out the views of the city. It was another beautiful day in Quito. The temperature was a cool 21C.
We decided to take the bus to Centro Historico and we used the same route that we took to return home the night before.
The first place we visited was the Plaza Grande. Like all the cities I've visited so far (Guayaquil, Cuenca and Baños) there were always parks placed in the middle of the cities surrounded by the most iconic landmarks in the cities. Plaza Grande was no different. The Palacio Presedencial (aka Palacio del Gobierno) and the Iglesia del Sagrario overlooked the Plaza Grande. The park was packed full of people and it was difficult to find a seat anywhere!
The Palacio Presedencial (Presidential Palace) synonymous to the White House.
360 degree view from Plaza Grande.
Centro Cultural Metropolitano
To see the Palacio Presedencial, you needed to get tickets from a booth just outside the palace. We got our tickets but we had to wait just over an hour for our tour time so we visited the building across the street which was the Centro Cultural Metropolitano. The Centro Cultural Metropolitano is a cultural center where they hold exhibitions. There is also a municipal library located there. It's a very big building and walking around is really interesting with its intricate architecture and art everywhere you look. You can also walk to the 3rd floor where you can see amazing views of the city.
There was a photography and painting exhibit when we visited.
Whoa, que pase??!!
I liked the staircase design, so I asked Kary to take a photo.
The view of Plaza Grande.
Iglesia del Compañia (I think?) There is so many churches in Centro Historico!
Side door to Iglesia del Sagrario.
Nice view of the Panecillo from here too!
Palacio Presedencial
We could have spent more time walking around the huge building of the cultural center, but we needed to head back to the Presidential Palace for our tour. Security was very tight to get into the palace. They required ID and scanned to check belongings for anything dangerous (just like in the airport). The tour lasted about one hour but it was very interesting to learn about the palace. The current President of Ecuador, Rafael Correra does not live in this building (by choice). However, past presidents have. The President of Ecuador does frequent the palace hosting meetings or dinners.
Here are some pictures I took of the palace.
The cabinet room.
Oratorio .
The next president... :D
The Presidencial Palace was very cool to visit. After, we walked our way to the Museo de Quito (Museum of Quito) and passed by many places.
A College right behind the Presedencial Palace.
Museo de Quito
We spent a lot of time in the museum of Quito and got to learn about the history of Quito from its primordial days.
We walked and walked and walked everywhere in Centro Historica and when we got hungry we went to Mercado La Merino where we ate cerdo churasco for almuerzo. Churasco is a spanish term meaning grilled meat.
We decided to head home in the late afternoon and dinner we ate lalitas (chicken wings) and drank beer in a restaurant downstairs from our condo.
We ended the night dancing and singing.
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