Mon., Sept. 28th Paulette's Alsemberg Walk

It was hard to believe that we had yet another superb day for our walk as we reach the end of September. We have been so fortunate this year with the unBelgian weather!!! It was a bit over cast toward the end of the afternoon but with the temperature at about 20C we relished having one more great day in a lovely location for our outing. There were 11 of us who participated and when Paulette, our leader, asked about adding a "short" extension to the walk we all readily agreed ... It turned out to be a little longer than expected!!! ... Now, where were you walkers with your gps's when we needed you??? We will have to work on that if we want to incorporate it into the walk in the future.

Mon., Sept. 28th Paulette's Alsemberg Walk

We were all more than delighted to finally arrive at the cafë snack room t'Pleintje back in Alsemberg after the walk. There we were well taken care of by their most efficient waiter and offered choices from the menu of snacks and desserts as well as our drinks. Many of us chose to indulge in something to eat with our drinks as we were most hungry and thirsty after our longer than usual excursion.

Fri., Sept. 25th Deborah's Lier Walk

Today was Deborah's LIER adventure for the 9 other walkers who could join her for it. She and a "rekkie" group of 10 had checked it out just a month ago so quite a few of us got to experience this small picturesque town also known as "mini Bruge". It was beautiful both days but today was special with beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the 20's for our splendid day out by train. The group met at Gare Centrale on track #5 for the 10:41 train which took 40 minutes with 3 stops. It was an easy trip and we hoped to meet up with Yuko who was driving from Brussels in the parking lot near the train station on Leopoldstraat. Well, let's just say it took a while to find each other. Meanwhile the ladies took off on their circular route around the picturesque town of LIER which took about an hour before heading back into town.

Fri., Sept. 25th Deborah's Lier Walk

We were fortunate to find some shade under the lovely trees as we made our way around the Lier loop and we eventually made our way back through town to find a place for lunch.

Fri., Sept. 25th Deborah's Lier Walk

We found seating in the shadow of the Clock Tower at a Lebanese restaurant which got mixed reviews from the ladies. Some were very happy with their choices others not so much. After lunch several walkers headed back to obligations in Brussels and others stayed around for another hour or so to explore the sites further.

Fri., Sept. 25th Deborah's Lier Walk

All too soon it was time to head back to the Lier Station for the 15:39 return train to Brussels which got us back to Gare Centrale by 16:20. The train was precise and on time so that we were soon on our way back. Whew ... at least one of us thought it was time to catch a quick cat nap!!!

Mon., Sept. 21st Paulette's Woluwe Walk

Another lovely warm sunny summerlike day greeted us for our walk when we met up outside of the Tram Museum in Woluwe this afternoon. Paulette led us from there around the park areas of Woluwe so that after our hour and a half excursion we could end up at the apartment of Kyung-sook who was hosting us all this afternoon. It was our chance to say our "farewells" to our good walking friend, Kathleen, who will, unfortunately, be leaving us soon! It is always sad to have to say goodbye ... but, we prefer to look on the bright side and acknowledge that we are all so glad that we had so many walks and talks together while she was here with us. We had some lovely cakes baked by some of our walkers to enjoy along with the hot tea and coffee that Kyung-sook provided. Many thanks to all the ladies who made such a nice effort for us to enjoy today.

Mon., Sept. 21st Paulette's Woluwe Walk

We were all able to drop our shoes at the door and come in to enjoy Kyung-sook's kind hospitality. After enjoying the delicious refreshments for a while we then took a few minutes to present a farewell tribute and a photo composite to our friend Kathleen in addition to a card which all the walkers had signed for her. We will all miss her and are sorry that she will be leaving us. We assume that she will follow our activities faithfully on the blog ... Ahem!!! We ask her to return for a walk with us when ever she is back in Brussels in the future.

Fri., Sept. 18th Sandy's Boitsfort Walk

What a perfect afternoon for our Friday walk!!! It couldn't be much better than we had today ... with sunny skies a little breeze and a temperature of about 20C. Whew ... wish we could keep it like this for a while longer. The grand weather also brought out a lot of walkers as we had over 20 again for our refreshment stop later on. Sandy led the group from the Dr. de Compte in Watermael-Boitsfort through a portion of the Foret de Soignes which was lovely on this fall afternoon. We were happy to welcome our youngest WIC Walker, Halka, who came with Christa and was sporting a bright red bandana around her neck. She has grown a lot since we last saw her. This being her first official WIC Walk ... it was indeed exciting for all of us!!!

Fri., Sept. 18th Sandy's Boitsfort Walk

We happily settled ourselves around a group of tables on the lawn of the Intero Tennis Club where we met up with Sheila and the Philosophers! Costas, the "Maitre d' " was, as you can tell, not shy in his pursuit of fame ... to be part of the blog photo ... but, he was also efficient in serving us our choice of drinks. Many of the ladies chose ... "Un Chose" ... a mix of grapefruit juice and tonic water that was quite refreshing in the warm afternoon temperature! Martha shared with us treats ... which she brought back from her recent trip to Sicily ... Yum, ... some pistachio - marzipane green candies which were delicious ... Many thanks, Martha!