A few plant shots shall follow now over the next couple of days. Enjoy a bit o' nature!

Now apparently my camera is on the blink. :( I turned it on to snap a picture this morning and it flicked out, and it's not the batteries. And so...from the archives today. Anyone want to buy a chicken that's been laying outside unrefrigerated all day? :)

Yes folks, these are desperate times in my household and I am behind on the blog. We've had sick kids and lots of rain...which doesn't allow for much photography time in the outdoors. Soothe yourselves this hour with this tranquil photo featuring the rainbow of colored bathrooms in our home. There is one more, but it is white so didn't make the cut. HA!

This is another roadside photo coming into the city. It is photoshopped for color saturation as I liked the effect. ;)

Another lovely evening sky.

I think these might be the "Twin Towers" of Quito, but I'm not sure if my brain is on the correct street or not. ;) Not to mention the fact that there is a bus waiting area in the way...

A bit of a fuzzy evening view from our dining room window. And yes, there's Mt. Cotopaxi in the distance again. ;)

A little advertisement for a local restaurant in case you're in town and feeling hungry. ;)

I love this picture. :) I realize that it's just an address, but I thought it was lovely. My husband thought I was a little coo coo when I was taking it, but he too liked it when he saw it tonight.

This will be another photo that you might want to enlarge, as it shows these little tiny homes alongside the road with their laundry hanging out front. This whole section of road is peppered with these. The angle of the whole thing isn't the greatest...but you'll get the idea anyway. ;)

The view from the top of a city street...there is so much to see in these neighborhoods that are high up. Surprisingly, in many of these areas it is the very poor who live with the million dollar views (click photo to enlarge). This is much different than what I am accustomed to and find it rather refreshing! ;)

Look at the beautiful big blue sky we had yesterday in Quito! I ventured into a new/higher area of the city yesterday to get a better view...some people say that once you've seen one view, you've seen them all, but I continue to be fascinated with the amazing beauty that is laid out in this nest of the Andes Mountains. If you click the photo to enlarge, you will once again see snow capped Mt. Cotopaxi in the center of the photo. :) What can I say? It's everywhere!

13, Going Up!

Anyone tired of city shots? Well, I guess that is the point of the Daily Photo blog, isn't it? :) Shown here is another view from the hotel - this one taken from the elevator on the uppermost floor (13, I believe - though more like 15 or 16 in reality). Obviously it was a glass elevator!

A closer view of yesterdays castle...couldn't get any closer as there is a gate all around (as you can see in yesterdays shot). I would have liked to have gotten the whole thing, but in order to step back to capture the magnitude of it all, I would have had to have been willing to be flattened by oncoming traffic. I love the Daily Blogger business, but not THAT much. ;)

I was really taken by the view from our hotel room, primarily because it showcased the lovely blue and white castle looking building...which though apparently I have driven by many, many times, I have never actually noticed. Come to find out, it actually houses a security company... which is a teeny bit disappointing...no fairy princess or anyone actually living there. ;)

Last night my husband and I stayed at the Swiss Hotel here in Quito and were surrounded by quite a lot of beauty...both scenic and human made. Over the next few days I will share some of my findings. :) Pictured today is a beautiful building...made by a human. ;)

One of these days I am going to catch one of the BIG planes coming in. They fly in so low and large that you think they are for sure going to land on the building next door. The Quito airport has a runway of 3,120 meters (this is quite short!) in length by 46 meters width.

A beautiful clear shot of Mt. Cotopaxi, amidst the big, puffy clouds. :)

Remember this pretty lady? Well, we finally met her, up close and personal! She was right outside of the restaurant, Pims, at the Panacillo. She is GINORMOUS - sort of like the Statue of Liberty of Quito.

Another shot from last night...

City Lights

Tonight we tried out a new restaurant in Central (Colonial) Quito. The view shown above is facing North into the city and had spectacular views. The two peaked greenish looking building in the center of the photo is the National Basilica, which I have featured a few different times, but particularly in this shot where you see one of the two twin clock towers. I am a little disappointed in the fact that it was a bit foggy, because when we first arrived it was clear as could be but I waited to take photos until after dinner. Ah well, now I'll just have to go back again!

I spy...something small, yellow and round

Another glimpse into a small part of the back yard of the ambassador. What a view, eh?

Another interesting piece of artwork in Quito. He pedals and rotates, so by the time I had my camera aimed on him (in the car), he was facing this direction. :)

Que Rico!

This is one of those photo opportunities when I wish for a fabulous camera with high clarity for far away shots. This is SUCH a beautiful view of Quito nestled between the mountain peaks as you're coming into the city. I cropped it down a bit in the 2nd photo, but the first one is left untouched so you can appreciate the cobblestone road that we were driving in on. :)

Anyone for ice cream?

This is one of the local ice cream men - isn't he festive?

Everywhere there were flowers and gorgeous mountainous scenes. :)

(see below two posts for further details)

The ambassador residence...U.S. taxpayers dollars hard at work...