Quito City Tour

Last night I stayed up until 2am listening to the sounds of music in the streets.  This morning I woke about 5am to the roosters crowing in the fields.  Short night of sleep :)  We had an amazing view from our hotel room in Quito:

We went on a tour of the city.  First we drove up to the top of a hill to see how the city was laid out.  You can see a big, beautiful Gothic church.  We went there.

Then we drove down into the city to the Cathedral.  When they built it, they used the Gothic European style, but ran out of money and stopped production. When they continued it, they decided to skip the gargoyles, and use animals from Ecuador like turtles and anteaters.  Here are some pictures at the church.

The Iguana Gargoyle

After that we went to the Quito City Center and the Church of San Francisco.  They were having a church service while we were there which was cool to see.  Before they read the Gospel, they sang Alleluia.  We weren't supposed to take pictures inside, but I was sneaky.  They also had a statue of Martin Luther and some other rebels chained up holding the pulpit.  Here are some pictures:

  There is SO much more to tell about our day today, but Dan and I are so sleepy and there is a roaring fire going in our room so it is time for bed and another fun day tomorrow.  Hopefully I can add part 2 to this post, but I don't know how our internet access will be.   Love to all!  Bonnie and Dan