What can I say about Quito and Casa de la Beatrice…. and my arrival in Lima

What a wonderful time I had in Quito, although there was much I didn’t see.  I guess I will have to cover some more ground when I go back to catch my flight home.  The city tour was great, from the historic old town to the city center to the angel at the top of the mountain to my visit to the Botanical gardens, which were knock your socks off beautiful.  I will try to include a couple of pictures if I can only get my brain to function long enough to figure it out.

First, though, I could not have chosen a better place to stay than what I like to call La casa de la Beatrice (Italian pronunciation preferred – Bee a tree chay).  From the first moment I arrived and was greeted by Harold at the desk and then Beatrice at the door to my room, I felt that I was part of the family.  The first evening, Beatrice passed by the restaurant where I was enjoying a glass of wine and joined me there.   From then on, I got to meet her friend Gladys and her sister Susannah.  We enjoyed a hilarious evening (or should I say night, all night, til 2:00 a.m.) at a nightclub listening to electronic music.  I was vibrating from my head to my toes for the next three days, and had such a great time “chair dancing” with Gladys, Beatrice and Susannah. We posed for many pictures and had a wonderful time.  I got quite tipsy from my half bottle of beer due to the altitude.

Then I learned to tell time a la Beatrice.  The formula is simple:  Ask the time of whatever event Beatrice has invited you to and add an hour and 15 minutes to your meeting time.  Then add another half-hour for the inevitable stops to make conversation with whoever (whomever?) we run into on the street.  Add another 15 minutes for u-turns and retracing steps.  When you realize you are too late for whatever event you had planned, sit down somewhere for tea or perhaps a hot chocolate made from 80% pure chocolate and the most delicious I’ve ever had if you don’t count the 100% pure chocolate from the chocolate shop that I didn’t find until the last day in Quito.

All joking aside, Beatrice was a wonderful hostess and I will definitely stay there again on my way home to Atlanta.  She is a national treasure.

I met so many great people at the bnb, from Stephen from Belgium to Charity and Adam from I can’t think where at the moment, to a young couple from Australia who were taking their annual trip on their month-long break from school to Jane from Philadelphia, who arrived in Quito a few days after I did.   She also came to Lima, and we plan to meet up for pisco sours one evening before she leaves for Bolivia and then home to Philadelphia.

By the way, I may never give up my cane even after I have knee surgery, which will be the first minute I can schedule it after my return to Atlanta.  I kind of enjoyed being whisked through the airport in Quito and then again on arrival in Lima.  A very confusing and somewhat chaotic process was made much simpler by the fact that we went to the front of the line on every stop we made, including getting on and off the plane, going through security and immigration.  And oh, yeah.  No taking off of shoes going through security.  No fear of athlete’s foot from the nasty floor.  In fact, the floors were very clean at the airports.  I actually had a hamburger at Johnny Rockets at the airport; I really had a meat hunger after days of nothing but bread, cheese, and fried fish and popcorn kernels apart from the night Jane and I ate at the Place Pigalle next door to the bnb.  Great food, but way out of my money comfort zone.   I had lapin, which was outstanding.  Don’t ask what it is if you like bunnies.

From left to right, Gladys, Laurie, Beatrice & Susannah.

See Facebook for pictures of the Botanic Gardens.  I have quite suddenly lost the link to pictures.  This sometimes happens after wine for lunch.  And ceviche.  Don’t forget the ceviche.  Much better in Peru than the last time I had it, which might have been Greece about a hundred years ago.  Looking forward to pisco sours and a city tour.  Til then, amigos…..