One of the perks of walking to work is the chance to take different routes depending on the circumstances or my mood.

There is the fast route - the one I take when I need to get in early and don't want to dawdle. There's the cafe route - the one I take when the urge for coffee is too much to resist. There's the circuitous route - the one I take when the morning is too perfect to be spent inside and I want to postpone the inevitable.

And then there's the route I've been taking for the last two weeks: the scenic route. Contrary to the leisure the name implies, it's the second quickest way to work. It's also a safer, more relaxing option that eliminates the shadier elements of the downtown area (traffic, panhandlers, garbage).

It leads past a cafe and through the university, where I stroll along tree-lined walkways, past lawns and flowerbeds, past a fountain that flows during the spring and summer, and past an ivy-covered tower. If I time it right, the tower's Westminster chimes ring as I'm trekking by.

For fun, I drew a rough map of the routes mentioned. Please note that this map is intended for illustrative purposes only and should not be used as a walking guide or an electrical diagram.