ecuador | days 1-3: quito

hey yalls! it is i, ronald, and i have finally returned home from my 2-week-whirlwind of an adventure! i apologize for the delay; i took a little detour on my way home and had to get a few things out of the way before getting my film developed... and now it's go time!

so the first three days in ecuador were in the capital of this crazy country: QUITO.

the first thing i noticed about the city was most definitely the high altitude. at over 9000 ft (2800 meters) over sea level, quito is the second highest major city in the world. also, not only is the city on a major fault line, making it the 4th most earthquake damage prone city in the world, it is also built on "the pinchincha", which is made up of three active volcanoes. HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE HERE?! anyway, pictures:

view from the rooftop of my hostel.

the first day we decided to put my lungs to the test and climb some stairs. and let me tell you, the altitude is NO JOKE. i crapped out after maybe 5. no exagg. luckily, the city is full of stairs and steps and slopes and slides... it ain't flat.

dilz and i took a little walk to the itchimbia park for a little warm up before going reaaaaalllly high up.

{on a side note: i CANNOT WAIT to dork out and get my hands on adobe cs5. for those who are easily bored and not really interested in the power of photoshop, skip to 4:00 of this video and witness the ridic-ness that is technology. my goodness. the possibilities for this panorama! ok dork out done.}

after nearly losing my lungs we took a little juice break and headed over to the teleferico, aka cable cars that run up the side of the pinchincha. the view from up there [over 13,000 ft above sea level] was incredible!

fresh guanabana and tomate de arbol juice!

delicious natural juices are everywhere in ecuador. but you have to be careful, if you get juice from street vendors and cheap restaurants they might use bad water. and bad water is something to be scared of over there. always drink bottled water!

going up.

\

don't be deceived by the peacefulness in the picture, at the bottom of the mountain lies a hot mess of a city.

afterwards we ventured over to the centro historico, or old town quito, where we found a cevicheria full of people. not just any people, but old rowdy ecuadorian dudes who knew what they were doing. during my research of ecuador i was told to be picky about where to eat ceviche; make sure the restaurant is popular with the locals. since this place fit the profile, we decided to try our very first ecuadorian ceviche.

and it was a winner!!

the ceviche[and this here fish] wasn't enough for us fatties. we had to get a snack.

yummy cheese empanada.

morocho. really warms you up when it's chilly out.

the next day we walked around centro historico some more and hit up some plazas. one of my favorite areas in quito was la ronda, a street lined with cool cafe's restaurants and shops. apparently it used to be real ghetto, but now it's all cleaned up and coooool.

we liked it so much we took a walk there once during the day, and again at night.

a big boiling pot of canelazo. not my favorite, but a popular after dinner drink in ecuador.

we also went to mitad el mundo, aka the middle of the world. sadly it turns out that the monument isn't very accurately placed, but i'd still like to think i was actually at zero point latitude. we took a rather long and miserable journey [jumping on and off buses in the cold and rain] to the park only to find out there was an entrance fee. but luckily, not sure if it was because it was almost closing time or not, we got in for free.

needless to say dilz was psyched!

still psyched!

two pictures taken separately, photoshopped together. hence the awkwardness.

again, photoshopped picture. we are such dorks.

0'0'0". wut wuut.

on our way back i saw this ridiculous painting this lady was holding in line at the bus station. i didn't care if people were staring. i had to take a picture.

if she can carry a big ass unicorn painting in public, i can take a picture of her doing so.

later that night on our way to dinner:

this was probably the largest restaurant i have seen in quito. too bad it was empty. oh wait. it's a canadian restaurant.

excuse me? what IS canadian food anyway? i wish i had stopped to take a look at their menu.

so anyway, after dinner we got food poisoning and started our way over to the galapagos.

to be continued...

toodles and check out more pictures on flickr till then,

ronald.

off to the land of the Utes.

yeah. that's right. im off to the wild wild West. to see this girl. and even though i am the most unprepared i've ever been for a trip, my excitement makes everything ok. and of course i'm putting off my least favourite pasttime ever, by blogging. but of course! i will be in Moab, Utah for five days visiting one of the bestests. and i'm going camping...yes, me. unbelievable. but it's desert camping, so i think it won't be so bad. and the scenery will be more than worth a lil uncomfortable sleeping.

oh YEAH. i'll be seeing the grand and delicate arches. byaaaah!

when i come back, i'll be quite the outdoorswoman. or quite the poser. either way. it's going to be so awesome!! updates upcoming from both of us when we jointly return after sunday.



over and out,
larry


ps. here is our calendar! : read about august and then you'll understand our madness.

its all just so GADGET-y.

over the past few months, i have been toying with the idea of purchasing the iPhone. yes, no one needs to tell me how awesome they are. i already know. i've used them. yes, one would streamline my life and keep me more organized. of course it would make me look cool. but do i really need that much convenience at my fingertips? i just don't know yet...but, i mean, are we just too gadgety now? can we survive as a culture without these "things"? absolutely not. we are beyond dependent. they live our lives for us. and who doesn't want that? they make living easier, so we have end up having less interaction, less conflict, and ironically, less time.

the iPad is the perfect example of how its gone too far. first: the name. really? Apple....come ON. this cannot be for real. and what does it gives us that numerous other Apple products don't already?....nothing.

yeah. just a huge iPod/iPhone....whats the big deal?

i only know of a few people who actually even want the thing. most designers think its silly, myself included. its just one more thing for people to have. how much unnecessary junk do people need?

oh wait. i spoke too soon.

yes. how much is too much? maybe when you start buying gadgets for your gadgets. you might want to reevaluate. and start the purging process. purging always makes me feel better. because i'd like to live with the bare minimum. but since i'm constantly accruing goods, i constantly have to purge down to just what i need. it's a process, but good for the head.

ronald might be mad when she gets back and sees this post because i usually vent to her about this kind of stuff, but, i mean, the iPad? gimme a break.

over and out,
larry

life cleanup and LVL shoutOUT.

now that ronald will be gone in ecuador for the next two weeks, i will have a little more time on my hands. some of that time will be spent missing her, of course, but i talked to her when she was on layover in HOTlanta, and she made me realize i needed to clean my life up, really bad. ronald gave me a two week deadline; mop it all up by the time she gets back to the states. i can totes handle that. after a night of organizing, i got my eight hours and started over my week this morning. things are looking up already. if i'm this productive in one day, just think of how cleaned up my life will be by the time she returns! i'm on my way.

i have also realized that i should use blogging as a form of stress relief, so after a hellacious week last week, im going to start turning to blogging, instead of other vices. on that note: i was doing my daily flickr check today, and noticed some very fun sketchbooks that our friend Leana made, by hand of course! this girl is talented. we have both known her since our second year, so about five years now. she is a potter as well as a designer. i have three of her pots. and they are gorg, dahling.

that blue is fantasiche.

i took the bookmaking class with her our fifth year, and she has just run with it. her etsy store has some of her handmade books and they are so cute! i think i will be getting one of the vintage map sketchbooks.

look at that spine. i love red thread!

the girl has an amazing attention to detail. while we were in school, we called ourselves LVL. which is funny because LVL is laminated veneer lumber, which we learned about in school. did we know that, or even care? no way. its our initials, in the order we sat in mario's studio second year, a LVL sandwich. so, check this grrrrl out. she got skillz. i'm sure if you contacted her, she'd do special orders. but, perhaps i shouldn't make that assumption or offer that. [but she's the sweetest ever, so i'm sure she'd do whatever she had time for.]

in other news: my roommate and i ran the Monument 10K this weekend, and it felt so amazing to cross that finish line. we're running the richmond marathon in november. that finish is going to feel spectacular. so get out there! start slow, but enjoy the sunshine and exercise for your health!


over and out,
larry

really? REALLY? i'm outta here.

don't get me wrong, i love me some rachel but...

when this is the cover of an architectural design magazine, you know the architecture field ain't doin' so great. tsk. the things people will do to sell a crappy magazine... vom.

but then again i guess we ARE living in a world where rapping over remixes of 80s classics are considered making new music, so why not feature an episode of cribs as the cover story of an architecture mag. WHY NOT.

oh well, life goes on. and life is short, and one must see the world!

i'm going to ecuador on sunday.. for two weeks. i'll be visiting quito, the galapagos islands, otavalo and cotocachi in that order. should be a good change of scenery. all thanks to unemployment! YAY! i've never been to south america before. the closest to south america was when i went to miami with my brothers for a football game, spent the night, and drove right back. i'm excited, but also terrified at the idea of having to speak spanish. i took one semester in high school, and for years thought the spanish word for car was "el carro." oh...public schools!

day view of quito [and that is a volcano ladies and gents]

night view of quito [photos by dilz]

a massive blog post will commence upon my return! till then....

toodles,

ronald.

no mo' games.

after my less than serious last post, i realized i needed to get more serious and really start getting into this blogging thing. its a little tough with my limping along computer, but, i'll make it work.

ronald and i are on a mission. for the best ice cube tray ever. one that makes gigantic cube ice cubes. and no, i don't want to make a mold. i just want to have one, and fill it up with ease when i want to make a drink and have it look decedent, so i can enjoy a drink in the comfort of my home. i have been mercilessly perusing blogs, websites, eBay, and they are not for sale anywhere! the frustration is killing me. ikea had them a few years ago, but i cannot find them for sale at all. probably because they are so incredible that no one wants to sell theirs.

i mean...you only need one cube! i hafta hafta HAVE this!

so, please, if anyone finds one of these please let me know where. because i am buying one for me and ronald.

and another thing. there is a great little thrift antique store here in rva called class and trash. i went there a few weeks ago with a friend and walked away w/ an original george nelson set with table and six chairs for a steal! its in decent shape and will take a little cash to get back into great shape, but very worth it to me. the place is unbelievable. tucked away in glen allen of all places! it is one of those stores that you want no one else to ever find so only you can find the great deals. but, secrets out. they claim to have "shabby chic to true antique", and they really do. shabby chic is kind of an insider among our friends, so when i saw this on the door i immediately texted my friend, matthew. it was just too good. so, go there. [but really don't go there, so i can continue to find excellent pieces.]

a place i've been meaning to check out since before i moved here: metro modern. yes, i do love modern furniture. yes, it is usually expensive. but very much worth it. metro modern gets new pieces in a lot, so i really need to get over there and check them out. i emailed them about my set being refurbished and they were kind enough to direct me to a guy who could reupholster my chairs!

who wouldn't LOVE this calder mobile? i mean COME ON!

this place of course reminds me of our friend marc because he is a designer of modern furniture and an admirer like me. someday, hopefully [fingers crossed], i will be able to afford pieces that i want. who knows, maybe one day, metro modern will have the arco lamp i want, and i won't have to pay full price for it? heres to hoping.

yes. it is gorgeous, isn't it?

ciao,
larry

silly doggies.

as a self-proclaimed [not] animal lover, i have been thinking a lot lately about getting a dog. i never would do this, #1. b/c ronald doesn't like dogs because one bit her in the face one time....and #2. because i think its cruel to keep a dog cooped up in a house all day while i would be working. but, still, to have a constant companion, a running buddy, a cuddler! that would be nice, but, the maintenance is the deal breaker. i have enough trouble as it is taking care of myself, paying my own bills, etc. etc. i can't imagine, right now, taking care of someone else. one day i'll get there. that is in awhile i think. BUT, i digress. i have been thinking about dogs and how it is so silly, but most dogs totally resemble their owners. it makes me laugh when i see pairs on the street and how unusually similar dogs and owners can be and are.

i saw dogs as typefaces and it made me chuckle a bit. why are doggies so silly? maybe i'll just never know...

puppies!

ciao,
larry