In da Hood...

I was a bit reluctant to live in the Mariscal Sucre initially, but as days go by I've come to appreciate our "barrio" (neighbourhood).

Plaza Foch or Quinde

Even though La Mariscal is a magnet for backpackers and tourists, it is also true that locals go there to enjoy the bars, restaurants and other forms of entertainment that the area offers. Locals refer to it as the "pink district", not too dissimilar to London's Soho.

During day time other types of business take more prominence. Hostels, hotels, English schools, tour agencies, souvenir shops, museums and even a handicraft market (el Centro Artesanal) are the reason why this part of town is considered the epicentre of Quito's tourist infrastructure.

We're located on the border between La Mariscal and another area called La Floresta. Despite the huge variety of entertainment that La Mariscal has to offer, some of our favourite places are in fact in La Floresta:

- Ocho y Medio - http://www.ochoymedio.net/ - this is a fab art-house cinema which also has a small café / restaurant attached called "Que Dios le pague". During this month they were about to start a "European Film Season", which we were a bit gutted about, but we did see an Ecuadorian production called "A tus espaldas" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN8kiZReubc, which we enjoyed. The acting was rather poor, but the subject covered (Quito's society and the difference between the poor and the rich) was quite well depicted in a funny sort of way.

- El Pobre Diablo - http://www.elpobrediablo.com/ - an excellent venue for live music (mainly jazz, blues, rhythm & blues, etc.).

- Naranjilla Mecánica - http://lanaranjillamecanica.blogspot.com/ - we found it during a walk with Grinet and we had a mini tour of the place (the staff is lovely). We've decided to go back to this restaurant / bar / gallery / event space. It looked fab and it's only a few minutes' walk from our place!