Fri., Jul. 31st Sandy's Boitsfort Walk

The last day of July turned out to be a beautiful walking afternoon for us in the Foret de Soignes as we made our way around Sandy's trail under the trees with the sun streaming through. Martha provided the clue to the link we needed for a better route to get us to the tennis club for our stop to avoid the dreaded ranger on the forbidden chemin des cavaliers where we have been reprimanded in the past for trespassing!!! "Thanks, Martha!" Though not quite as exciting a route ... it was lovely through the trees and got us to where we wanted to end up.

Fri., Jul. 31st Sandy''s Boitsfort Walk

With the good weather this afternoon we were able to make our refreshment stop at the Intero Tennis Club where Costas (red shirt) took very good care of us. He helped put the extra tables together to accomodate the 14 of us and then took our drinks orders. Many of us chose to have "Un Chose" ... a refreshing grapeftuit juice and tonic combination which is perfect for a warm summer afternoon. We met up with Sheila and the Philosophers there who joined us for the social part of our afternoon's outing.

Wed., Jul. 29th Yuko's Rose Garden Excursion

Our thanks to Jennifer for this Google map of our trip around the Coloma De Rozentuin yesterday. As she stated ... it does look like a snail's tracks as we made our way around the grounds. You can click on this picture (or any of them) to enlarge it to see it better. Then hit the back arrow to return to the blog ... otherwise you will be dumped out!!! Jennifer credits us with logging in only 2.09 k's yesterday and only because she forgot to turn the gps off on her return to the car. As we stated below ... it was time to stop and smell the roses!!!

Wed., Jul. 29th Yuko's Coloma de Rozentuin Excursion in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw

Well, what can I say??? Yuko has been after us to plan a trip to this lovely Rose Garden in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw all summer and we finally got here. Sorry it took us so long as it is well worth the effort to get here about 45 minutes West of Brussels near Halle. We had to post pone it from last Thursday when it rained but we had great weather for it today. "Thanks, Yuko"! Eight of us met up at the entrance before noon and headed to the Taverne-Restaurant "De Koetsier" on the grounds for lunch on the back terrace under the trees. We then made our way out into the extensive grounds which are contained in 4063 hectares. The Gardens are open May 15 - Sept. 15th and next year Yuko says we should schedule a trip in June when it is at its best.

Wed., Jul 29th Yuko's Rose Garden Excursion

There was so much to see we wandered here and there to try to capture it all in the time we had.

Wed., Jul. 29th Yuko's Rose Garden Excursion

Although we did not do a rigorous WIC Walk this afternoon we took some time to litterally "smell the roses" and with so many of them it took a long time. After our excursion we adjourned back to the cafe for a drink before our departure. We also picked up a few local walks brochures which were available from the tourist office which we hope to take advantage of on another visit.

Mon., Jul. 24th Paulette's Beersel Walk

Paulette's walk in Beersel today took place under threatening skies and infact we did get some occasional sprinkles of rain. Seven of us were in attendance and we all enjoyed the scenic excursion in spite of the weather conditions. It was a lovely walk. Unfortunately, we could not find a cafe open near by for a stop after we finished and since it had started raining in earnest we decided to "call it a day" and not to try to venture farther away to find refreshments. I'm sure we can make up for it at another time.

Fri., Jul. 24th Sandy's Auderghem Walk

It was lovely in the forest this afternoon and after a night of rain it was quite cool and a bit muddy in spots. We made our way through though without any precipitation and enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings.

Fri., Jul. 24th Sandy's Auderghem Walk

Following our route around the forest we adjourned to Au Repos des Chasseurs in Auderghem. Some of us walked there others drove. We selected a table on the terrace under the awning and ordered our drinks. The waiter wanted us to pay him individually and would not provide us a bill (which turned out to be hand written) until after we had paid him ... Very strange ... We figure he was pocketing the money... ???

Impromptu Walk & Lunch - Thurs., July 23rd at the Rozentuin Coloma in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw

Hi Walkers,

Following Monday's walk we decided to plan an outing for this Thursday to visit the Rose Garden in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw about a half a hour West of Brussels. If you would like to join us we will be car pooling and we will meet at the entrance at 11:30am for lunch at their cafe followed by a walk around their extensive grounds. For more information check a website with photos of their roses and use the back arrow to return to the blog: Click here.Please advise Sandy if you plan to join us. More information was sent to you by email.

Mon., Jul. 20th Paulette's Neerijse Walk

Ten of us appeared for this afternoon's Neerise walk under the guidance of Paulette. Since tomorrow is the Belgian National Holiday we were not sure how many of us would be in town or be prepared for a walk today but we were happy to have so many participate. We did have some wind and rain but most of us were just glad to get out, stretch our legs and enjoy each other's company. We did postpone the diversion to the duck blind (or "Hide") for a better weather day so the new walkers can look forward to a return visit soon.

Mon., Jul. 20th Paulette's Neerijse Walk

We had some sprinkles of rain off and on but not enough to dampen our spirits. 9 of us posed for the group shot before continuing across a meadow and onto the duck boards that skirted the damper areas. Towards the end of the walk the sunshine shone brilliantly for all of us.

Mon., Jul. 20th Paulette's Neerijse Walk

After the walk most of us headed to Huldenberg which was on the way back to Brussels and stopped at Taverne Rochus. Since the terrace tables were still wet from the rain we settled inside and took over a group of tables and were served promptly by the staff. Gee ... says Isobel, ... I wish I had ordered that!!!