Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

On such a lovely, sunny spring afternoon we were all delighted to join Paulette on this walk in and around the beautiful area of Ohain. As you can see we did encounter some up hill climbs but it was not all that steep and after an hour and a half we made our return to our starting place.

Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

And, ... just one more group photo with the bandstand in the background. Here is where we met for the walk today and finished. It was great to have Paulette (4th from right) back in the lead today and she was very glad to get help in her absence from Isobel and Margosha, too. "Thanks, ladies"! We then made our way to Christa's home for our refreshments.

Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

Siegfried took good care of our youngest member of the WIC Walkers, Halka, who came out to greet us all at her new home! At less than 4 months she is growing rapidly ...

Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

Oops ... should have gotten a photo of the delicious cheese cake before the hoard of WIC walkers descended ...

Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

Many walkers gathered around Christa's dining room table which had already been set up for our arrival. We all certainly enjoyed the hot teas and coffee as well as cold waters if we chose. In addtion, the delicious cheese cake was a big hit with all of us. What a treat!

Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

With so many walkers out on this beautiful weather day there were a number of us who took over space in Christa's comfortable living room also where a table had been laid with all the necessary cups and plates. They also had a lovely view of the spacious back yard that will soon be in bloom.

Mon., Mar. 20th Paulette's Ohain Walk

And, our "many thanks" go to Christa (left) and to Siegfried, too for their splendid hospitality this afternoon. Not only did Christa take wonderful care of us with her hot and cold drinks and delicious cakes but her home was beautifully decorated with spring flowers. With such a beautiful weather day we really felt spring was here!!!

Mon., Mar. 30th Paulette's Ohain Walk

Poor Halka, I think we wore her out with all the excitement of having 20+ WIC walkers enamoured with her and trying to get her attention! Now she can rest up for our next visit ...

Fri., Mar. 27th Anne F's Tervuren Walk

After meeting down by the lake behind the African History Museum in Tervuren we took off crossing the N3 under Anne F's direction to begin our walk on the other side back into the farm areas behind the end of the #44 Tram stop.

Fri., Mar. 27th Anne F's Tervuren Walk

After almost a full week of rain we did encounter some MUD and unfortunately, one of the ladies fell into it but after the tumble she is now fully initiated into the WIC Walkers!!! Oops ... watch that electric fence ladies ... That's what did it...

Fri., Mar. 27th Anne F's Tervuren Walk

Our "thanks" to Anne F (2nd from left) who led the walk this afternoon. It was a new walk for us though we did cover a few areas that looked familiar from other walks we have done in and around the area. We did get some sunshine off and on and a good breeze occasionally. The temperature was about 8C but with the wind it felt colder. After a week of rainy weather though we were not complaining.

Fri., Mar. 27th Anne F's Tervuren Walk

It wasn't all mud though ... we crossed through some farmland fields and we were just very pleased to escape the rain that had been forecast for this afternoon. Sometimes we DO get lucky!

Fri., Mar. 27th Anne F's Tervuren Walk

We had another opportunity for an impromptu photo of the walkers ... so, we took it!

Fri., Mar. 27th Anne F's Tervuren Walk

We were able to take our refreshments at the Mont Blanc on the town square in Tervuren where we met up with several other WIC walkers who came for the social part of today's event. We had lots to discuss about up coming activities for the WIC Walkers so we took the opportunity to work on details while enjoying our time together.

Mon., Mar., 23rd Isobel's Rouge Cloitre Walk

Thanks to Jennifer for supplying us with this Google map image of yesterday's walk. The yellow push pin denotes where we actually started our walk from under the E411 (though the satellite could not pick up the signal). It was shorter than our usual walks but here are the statistics ... 4.7 km, 1 hour 11 minutes and we expended 351 calories which should have allowed us a cup of tea or coffee!

Mon., Mar. 23rd Isobel's Rouge Cloitre Walk

We gathered under the shadow of the E411 motorway for today's walk. Although the morning started dry and infact sunny at times ... by the time we were ready for the walk the rain and winds moved in. Amazingly, we still had a good crowd of about 16 of us who were ready for the adventure. They all get GOLD STARS for their efforts and we made a group decision that about an hour + was enough of the foul weather for us for the day!

Mon., Mar. 23rd Isobel's Rouge Cloitre Wallk

Most of the walkers were properly attired in foul weather clothes for today's wet walk through the forest area around the Rouge Cloitre then up to the Quatre Bras and back. It was not; however, a fun outing. We had rain and occasionally blustry winds so that we decided to cut the route short after an hour or so. Sheila scrubbed the Philosophers' walk also due to the weather conditions.

Mon., Mar. 23rd Isobel's Rouge Cloitre Walk

Who ARE these ladies and why are they smiling??? Well, Gill, Jennifer and Janet were indeed glad to take refuge in the ADEPS cafeteria after we voted to end the walk a bit earlier than normal due to the yukky weather conditions! The cafeteria was convenient and we were able to get there before it closed at 3pm ... Perfect for us. Just as we were exiting the Rouge Cloitre at the completion of our walk the Park Ranger arrived to close it off .. so, I guess we left it at the right time!

Mon., Mar. 23rd Isobel's Rouge Cloitre Walk

We all felt a bit bedraggled after our rainy outing this afternoon but we shed our wet jackets, hats, scarves etc. and enjoyed the time that we shared in the warmth of the cafeteria. After 9 days of more or less sunny skies we were due for a weather "correction"... One of our knowledgeable walkers said she had heard that if we had at least 9 straight days of sunny skies in March we should be guaranteed to have a really nice summer. Let's hope that prediction is correct ... We shall see.

Fri., Mar. 20th Sandy's La Hulpe Walk

We stopped shortly after the walk began to observe some pussy willows in bloom which seemed to be doing quite well even though the boughs they were on had been severed. We saw quite a few bushes in bud which we are sure the sunshine of the past week has been helping along.

Fri., Mar. 20th Sandy's La Hulpe Walk

We continued along our route and our conversations as we headed north up toward the ring road before taking a turn to the right and eventually starting our return. We saw several deer this afternoon who seemed as startled to see us as we were to see them.

Fri., Mar. 20th Sandy's La Hulpe Walk

Let's see are the walkers holding up the tree or is the tree holding them up? Perhaps they are just trying to keep touch with nature? Anyway, we stopped for a timed photo about 3/4 distance around our route. Many of the ladies were smart enough to bring their sun glasses ... which were, thank heavens, very much needed this afternoon!

Fri., Mar. 20th Sandy's La Hulpe Walk

I think the ladies were feeling a bit giddy by the time we arrived at the approach to the Chateau. They were probably dazzled by the sunshine and the beautiful, clear blue skies. Have we ever seen such a clear sky here ... certainly not too often!