special quesadillas don't seem so special anymore...

...because they exist in ecuador, too! but in quito, they're called empanadas de viento (or just empanadas de queso if they're the regular small ones) and people put sugar on them sometimes...but the cheese doesn't taste as good, which really makes them not as awesome as the ones in the amaaaazing imperial valley (see my el centro blog ~ september 2009)...even so, we ate one or eight, because we're fatty...

more importantly, we were in quito during carnival…so every time I walked outside, i got sprayed with some funny funny soap that came out of a can…

 

especially when i entered the area of old town called la ronda...

  

until, finally, i looked like i'd gone through a car wash...

mike only got a little...

 

i think people were intimidated by his tall whiteness. he kind of looked like the man...but we weren't the only ones who got shampooed...here are some sudsy ecuadorians in la ronda...

on a calmer note, we took a day trip to some thermal baths in a mountain village called papallacta. it hurts my heart to say what i’m about to say, but i have to admit…the baths there were better than the ones in budapest [chest pains…i’m sorry]. but there were more than twenty pools! and they were in the mountains!

 

 

and now i'm just going to insert some quito pictures here, because i'm tired and lazy and tired...this is the plaza grande, the main square...

 

  

 

  

and here's a busy street in the old town...

 

next is plaza san francisco where we bought our first ice cream from those two under the umbrella...(quito produces goood ice cream)...and where i first tasted chocolate con queso at a cafe on the distant right...

  

and this is where we bought juice on the street from the most adoraffle girl ever...

  

here is a shot of the hill called el panecillo (the little bread loaf) with the famous winged virgin of quito...

  

we took a bootleg taxi to the top of el panecillo where i got this shot of the city...

 

and then we finished off our trip in la ronda just before heading to el aeropuerto...but this time without all the suds..carnival was over...

 

el centro: where the sun spends the winter

el centro (fondly called hell centro), california is the place i grew up. it's about 120 miles east of san diego in a desert 50 feet below sea level. according to an article written in january 2009, el centro has the second highest unemployment rate in all the united states - second only to yuma, arizona. el centro's claim to fame is - are you ready? - cher. that is correct. cher was born in el centro, so suck it all you jealous people.

besides cher, the imperial valley is also home to some very delicious treats. first and foremost is something called the special quesadilla. it's really just a fried tortilla stuffed with cheese, but i haven't been able to find this anywhere else in the united states. look how happy mike is digging in at christmastime last year.

next on the list is a delightful drink, which is actually non-alcoholic. although, from the rest of this blog, you may not believe it. here is the chili mango raspado, which i've found in other parts of the world, but they're never as good as this one from cuchi's.
something else i had during my most recent trip home was this chili-covered apple.

unfortunately, it was a little too salty for my taste, but my nephew seemed to enjoy it.
that's tristan sitting in the lavender bedroom i grew up in. i bet you like the wallpaper.

the other mexican food i miss from california is the fatty fried fish taco with a side of rice and refried beans probably cooked with lard...mmmm...

and finally, during my august trip, i kidnapped a small thing, so i wouldn't have to have one myself.

but then i gave her back. the dog's name is barney in honour of the real barney in my life...