Quito Old Town Photo Page 2

Casa Foch Bed & Breakfast. Mi casa lejos de casa. 
(My home away from Home)
This is where I stayed in Quito. 
Very nice room.  Beautiful hardwood
floors that were buffed to a shine every day.
One interesting feature.  I had to call down
to the desk every time I wanted hot water.
There was always cold, but hot was on demand
No additional charge through.
There were always two bottles of drinking water as well
No, you do not drink tap water outside the US!

Looking out over a small portion of Quito from a restaurant we ate at up on a hilltop.

Panecillo Hill

Rising up from the middle of Quito’s Old Town is Panecillo Hill. From the top of the hill, the famous winged Virgin of the Apocalypse gazes upon the city, supposedly protecting it from the many volcanoes that surround Quito. The statue is a copy of a 17th century painting by Bernardo de Lagarda. It is said that Lagarda modeled his painting after the typical Quiteña of his time (without the wings of course)  The virgin stands on top of a globe and is stepping on a snake, which is a classic Madonna iconography.Less traditional are the wings. Locals claim that she is the only one in the world with wings like an angel.This statue is constructed of aluminum and is 148 feet high. It is a relatively new addition to Quito being constructed in 1976.

This is just one of numerous statues and bronzes seen
around Quito.  Everything from this old bronze to
ultra modern sheet metal works.

This is the Ceremonial Presidential Quarters.                                            
It has a large open courtyard in the center                                           

These two Ceremonial Guards stand on these podiums at the entrance to the Courtyard.
I never saw them move a muscle the whole time I watched them. 
In fact I had to look closely to determine that they were real people. 
They are!

Yeah, he is smiling, but I am not going to kick him in the shin!