Arrived in Quito!

Hard to believe just 48 hours ago, we were putting Christmas decorations away and shoveling snow. Since then we had an easy flight to Miami and then just 4 hour flight to Quito...then stepped into a totally different world. We quickly found our hotel...a gem in it´s hay day with lots of decorative wood and gilded ceilings. Our window opened to a small courtyard and perfect view of volcanic mountains that surround this city of about 3 1\2 million people. Quito is the highest in elevation of all capital cities. We all crashed and woke up ready to explore Old Town. The city square soon filled with musicians, dancers, vendors, shoe shiners and the locals. Seeing a crowd gather, we joined in and were treated to a End of the Year parade of costumed characters...lots of them devils...frolicking down the street. How lucky! Then we were awed by the 4 tons of gold decorating the Cathedral Campania de Jesus. Ornate beyond compare. Interesting fact was since the Incas built it, it also encompassed lots of Inca symbols. We also went into a couple other Catholic churches all filled with gorgeous stain glass and unique Nativity scenes. Finally, we decided to get an overview of the whole city by taking a cable car ride up to 13, 287 ft. Now that was an amazing view! Talk about ending the day on a high!!!