The Western Parkway is never busy and it's always our preferred route when we're driving downtown. The scenery is surpassingly beautiful, with the sight of cornfields, forested areas where deer on occasion and foxes make themselves seen briefly, and people run and bicycle, walk their dogs, alongside the unwinding Ottawa River in its vast breadth on the landscape.

On the greensward there are always people picnicking; none this day sunbathing, however, with the low cloud ceiling of a skyward landscape of cream-and-grey clouds.

We passed the Aeronautical Museum grounds, in the distance small aircraft parked on the vast scope of surrounding airfields -- on the sideroads bicyclists increased in numbers, whizzing by at dizzying speed. We passed the dazzling-white structures of Middle East embassies, the Mint, the Peacekeepers monument, and turned down to Byward Market. Since it was a weekday we experienced little difficulty finding a parking spot handy to the market centre.

There, we ambled about alongside crowds of tourists and Ottawans all out for a few pleasant afternoon hours spent browsing among the various stalls of street vendors selling everything from African and Central American handicrafts, locally-handmade jewellery and casual clothing, and imported basketware, along with any other number of consumer-popular items. There are stalls selling straight-from-the-farm milk and butter, cuts of meat and eggs.

Others selling garden plants and still others bursting with a colourful array of cut flowers. And then, best of all, fresh fruits and vegetables arrayed in bright and inviting display, almost irresistible in their appeal, until one recalls a refrigerator-full of like products and succumbs only to those not already in hand.

Once my husband has found the latest issues of his art and antique publications at a magazine shop he has frequented for decades and which boasts with good reason to have just about every magazine, journal and newspaper anyone might possibly want to acquire covering a vast array of topics, we went on to his favourite cheese shop to browse briefly and bring back home with us Saint Paulin, Saint Honore, Provolone and Parmesan cheeses.

A break from routine and a fairly entertainingly restful perambulation in a part of Ottawa that attracts those who appreciate the opportunity to do as we did. Though we did not do as so many others do, and seat ourselves in the Alfresco areas of the proliferation of Market cafes. Unlike places in Europe that welcome dogs accompanying their humans, in this city such aberrations are frowned upon.