Quito is the second largest city in Ecuador and is located at about 3000 meters (9000 feet) above sea level. It is within the Andes, a long mountain range that runs north south and roughly divided the country in half. To the east are the jungles of the Amazon, and to the west the coastal plains and the Pacific ocean. Because of the nature of the valleys the city is longer north to south than it is wide.
It is very hilly within the city and as you drive around you are either going uphill, downhill, or around a curve, or even through one of the many tunnels.

At every intersection or place where traffic slows there are vendors selling everything from telephone calling cards and auto accessories to food items ranging from fruit to candies. Even as we drove around the country we would encounter vendors along the roads, and especially at the speed bumps every town has. It could be a child, a handicapped person, folk dressed in 'cultural' clothing, like the small hat some women wear. Basically if you slow down you are approached by someone selling something! By the way - the money used in Ecuador is the same as our money. They adopted the use of U.S. currency a few years ago as they did away with the Sucre. There was no currency exchange to deal with.
There are many very old churches in the older part of the city and a beautiful large statue of the 'Virgin' on a mountain top that you can drive up to.