Maison
Our family home rests on the second floor with only 2 small sets of stairs to climb. It is a clean, quiet, bright, secure and well-appointed apartment for a nice family, couple or single. Our condo boasts 3 large bedrooms with an office that can be used as a fourth bedroom. The 2 kids rooms each have a single bed and the MB has a queen size bed.
There are comfy couches in the living room and the familyroom that could also be used for sleeping. The huge living room and dining area are colorfully but tastefully furnished with custom sofas, chairs, a 6-seater dinning table and original artwork throughout. The family room is small but has a ton of toys, DVDs, board games, and a crafts table that will provide a fine distraction for the kids that may accompany you. There are four bathrooms, two are half, and two are full.
The fully stocked white kitchen has all the amenities that one expects from a modern style South American condo i.e., coffee maker, microwave, gas stove, hot water on demand, pots and pans, table setting for up to 10, toaster, fridge etc... but no dishwasher. There is no AC but one does not it in Quito, as the average year-round temperature is 72F. At the back of the condo is a large open terrace where one may sit and enjoy the sunny days while looking at Volcano Pichincha. All windows in the condo have locking bars for security. Two TV/DVD/VCR’s (No cable TV) are present and high speed Internet with a computer is ready for your use. An iPod speaker’s station and a portable stereo w/CD player are also at your disposal. A huge collection of DVD’s are here for your viewing pleasure.
Our home comes with a fabulous housekeeper---she's been with us for 4 years--who can take care of your everyday needs such as: cleaning, cooking and laundry as it suits you. She also babysits and is excellent with children, but for this extra work she charges a small fee.
We have a car that is also available. It's a small Daewoo 5 door hatchback.
Quartier
Our home resides in a gated/guarded community named Las Bromelias in the affluent neighborhood northern-district of Quito, Monteserrin. There are many distinguished Ecuadorian and Expat families here so seeing children riding their bikes, walking around and playing is common. It is generally a quiet neighborhood but one must keep in mind that we’re in a Latin American city, so this is not a rural lifestyle or a typical Canadian urban setting. There is a private park on-site for members only but Park Metropolitiano (PM) is a 15-minute walk away. PM is Quito's largest public park similar to NYC’s Central Park or High Park in Toronto.
Quito is approximately 10,000 feet above sea level surrounded by Andean mountains. Quito was declared a World Heritage Site by UNECSO in 1978.
From Quito one can drive only a hour to three hours to discover some of the best outdoor activities in the world including: The Equator, bird watching, mountain climbing/trekking/hiking, a photographers/bird watchers paradise, Cloud forest, natural thermal baths, Andean haciendas, flowers galore, Otavalo market, beaches, colonial town also know a Centro Historico, National parks such as Cotopaxi, and other snow capped volcanos.
There are a plethora of things to do in Quito such as amazing restaurants, cafes, art galleries, colonial architecture, parks, Botanical Gardens, and on it goes. Also, easy flights to the west coast and to the Galapagos Islands can be booked from Quito. The international airport is 4 km from our home. If one wishes to see the jungle it’s a 4 to 6 hour drive or bus ride. We are a 15 minute walk to the mass transit system, $0.25 per ride across the city or one can easily take a yellow call-taxi. All taxis are cheap, efficient, safe and reliable. A taxi from our home to the colonial town costs $5.00 about 30 minutes. A large grocery store is a 15-minute walk or a $1.00 taxi ride. Variety stores and bakery’s are all over our neighborhood.
À propos de nous
We are a Canadian family of 4. My spouse, Jill, and I, have been living and working oversea for 11 years. We have lived in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and now Ecuador, for 4 years. We have traveled extensively through the Middle East, Asia, parts of Europe, Northern Africa and of course parts of South America. Our children ages 11 and 5 are amazing kids who love the overseas life. Zoe, our daughter, was born in Saudi Arabia and our son, Riley, left Canada with us for Kuwait when he was 18 months old. They are both fluent in speaking Spanish. Jill speaks pretty good Spanish and my street Spanish gets me by just fine.
We love living in Ecuador. It’s a fabulous place with great weather, sometimes it rains unpredictably, but overall the opportunities for exploring and seeing things one will never see anywhere else in the world are endless. We normally take our family summer holiday in Southern Ontario in our cottage but we’ve decided this year we wish for a Toronto summer experience.
Jill, is the Curriculum Coordinator at a leading international school in Quito, a 10-minute walk from our home. I am a full-time writer. We are ex-Torontonians having lived in the downtown core for 10 years prior to moving overseas. We love Toronto and wish to exchange a home there for our home in Quito this summer 2009. We are out going and sociable but not into big parties (we have 2 kids after all) and will treat anyone’s home like our own because that’s the right thing to do.
Destination
Although we stated Toronto, as that is our preference, we are open to other areas in the GTA or even fun places like Stratford, Collingwood or Wasaga Beach. We would like an exchange from nearing the end of June to the first week of August--dates are somewhat flexible. Could even be just a July exchange. We have a small, amazingly friendly cat in our Quito home but the housekeeper will take care of its needs. Our car, a Daewoo 4-door hatchback can be made available for use with an exchange but it is meant for urban or paved road travel, not rural roads or long journey's.
