Ottawa became the capital city of Canada when before Confederation Upper and Lower Canada (late 18th Century -- Ontario and Quebec essentially) couldn't agree whether Toronto or Montreal should become the capital, and they finally settled for a lumber town on the Ottawa River, halfway between each. The Ottawa River was the venue of exploration and trapping by French-Canadian voyageurs at the time, and trade with the native populations, while logging was mostly controlled by entrepreneurial Americans who speculated that the great forests represented valuable investments of their time, energy and funding.

The city where once, when the Rideau Canal was being built, labourers were susceptible to contracting malaria, the seat of the federal government, is essentially a government town, but its population has swelled enormously. It's a picturesque and lovely city with ample greenspace both within and surrounding it. The two rivers bisecting it east to west and north to south, make it all the more interesting, with the Rideau emptying into the Ottawa. While the Ottawa river separates Ontario and Quebec.

Taking the Eastern Parkway, the green space along the Ottawa River presents as parkland where people congregate to enjoy the opportunity to picnic, hike, bicycle and slip their light watercraft into its flowing waters. The National Aeronautical Museum is located there, and across from it the RCMP stables for its much-vaunted Musical Ride performances.

Gatehouse to 24 Sussex Drive, PM of Canada's official residence

Approaching old north-central Ottawa, a glance across the river brings in a close-up view of the communities along the banks of the river, on the Quebec side. They present a picture-postcard view reminiscent of the late 19th Century, much as small towns in Vermont with their church steeples and white clapboard homes strike nostalgia through those postcard scenes.

We were headed for Byward Market. And though it was a weekday, it was also inordinately warm for this time of year, although the sky had succumbed to the presence of rain clouds, dark and menacing after a brighter morning. Tourism buses park everywhere and anywhere they can to debark their passengers on walking tours of the area called the Parliamentary Precinct and beyond, where many foreign embassies are located, and trendy shops, along with historical buildings.

Byward Market is a short walk from Parliament Hill, and teeming with visitors, tourists from abroad and from other venues in Canada alike. The Byward Market shops are colourful, funky and attractive. The emphasis is also on cafes and restaurants and with this late-summer weather everyone seems to want to seat themselves at outdoor terraces and patios, to enjoy meals while watching the parade of passing humanity.

Young and old, feeble or vibrating with energy, the market draws people. To shop at the various stalls selling produce, art, jewellery, clothing, and exotic goods from afar. The character types viewed there range from the oblivious-to-others, to the preening, self-conscious youth who are there to be seen so their uniqueness can be noticed and admired -- perhaps by others like themselves. It's a place where tattoo art and body piercings are so common that those without seem in the minority.

In the near distance there are views of the Parliament Buildings, now largely behind massive scaffolding as remedial work long overdue is being undertaken. Building cranes, in fact, are in evidence everywhere in downtown Ottawa and beyond. A good view can be had of the American Embassy from many streets in the Market; the original Embassy located directly across from the Parliament Buildings was a distinguished, American vernacular neo-classical building, not to be confused and never could be, with the current brutalist building resembling a huge nuclear reactor; so much of necessity have the times changed.

A more aesthetic style of post-modern architecture can be seen in the National Gallery of Art, along Sussex, and close to a war memorial dedicated in fact to peace as though wishing could make it so. The National Gallery's style is that of a crystal palace distinguished by glass dyhedrals; its emphasis lingers on Canadian art, art of First Nations, and of course its inventory of world-class European art of previous centuries. A whimsical sculpture sits on the plaza in front of the Gallery, named 'Maman'; a giant spider with eggs under her belly.

A much older historical piece of architecture is represented, leaving the area, by the Catholic Cathedral which had a central place in the religious adherence of many of the region's French-Canadian population, serving an ever-diminishing number of the faithful as the Church has seen and continues to see a steady drop in attendance and affiliation. As the world turns.