Eating and Drinking

I think one of the things you miss the most about being on the
Ice is the ability to make choices. Especially things you eat and
drink. Especially when you re-enter the world in Christchurch, and
there are so many good restaurants and choices. I went to lunch today
with Melanie and Amy to the Belgian Beer Cafe Torenhof. Susie
introduced me to it in October and it's become one of my favorite
places to eat. They also have really good Belgian Beer as well.


When I left lunch, I walked over to the Asian Market. Lynn and I have
been going here for quite a few years now and although we don't need
any food right now, they have a special Green Tea that Lynn likes, so
I got a few tins to take home.


I also like the Chinese Gunpowder Tea, so I got a box of it to take home
as well.


It's funny because I'm not a big drinker at all, but somehow beer when
you're coming off the Ice tastes so much better. I went to Winnie
Bagoes for my friend Bamma's birthday party and because many
of her friends are also my friends as well, it was great to see so
many people I knew. I had pizza, which to be honest, Winnie Bagoes
has some of the better pizza in New Zealand and a Mac's Great White,
which is also a Belgian-style Beer. At the end of the day, both
my stomach...and liver...were happy!

En el Norte de Quito

We looked around the New Town area of Quito today and found
this nice little boating area in Parque de Carolina. Lots of families
out today since it's a Saturday.


On three of the four corners of this very large park (Think Central Park
in New York) are shopping malls. We stopped by the El Jardin and
the wealthier people of Quito definitely don't want for lack of
selction when it comes to their shopping. The big grocery chain
here is Maxi...either SuperMaxi or MegaMaxi which is kind of like
a Super Wal-Mart. Many of the expats here call them Maxi Pads!


Ecuador is a coffee growing country but not a lot of it is exported
to the United States. However, a face familiar to many in the
States is Juan Valdez. Similar to a Starbucks, we've seen several
of these cafes in Quito and are run jointly between the Ecuadoran
and Colombian coffee growers.


Where would the world be without Apple Computers? I would guess
that Ecuadorans aren't as Mac crazy as Americans since very few
people were in this store while we were visiting, but it did provide
a good quick way to check our email.


We walked around the neighborhood of our hostel a bit and
found this street/stairway that was taunting us. However, the
stairway won, since there was no way our oxygen-challenged
lungs were going to tackle this monster! However, three dogs
seemed to be enjoying the view as they chatted amongst
themselves, including the spaniel on the stairs and the
boxer on the roof.