Paulette's walk in Neerijse Mar 29th

Dear Wicwalkers, Jennifer has advised the following: The plant is a Butterbur, as far as I can see (Petasites hybridus) known for growing in damp places by rivers and flowering in the spring. It is used in alternative medecines, but can cause quite bad reactions, so best admired from afar.

Many thanks, Jennifer!

Paulette's walk in Neerijse on Monday March 29th

Does anyone know what this plant is called? It's a Butterbur (see explanation above).

Paulette's walk in Neerijse 29th March 2010

Surprisingly, there were 10 of us ready to brave wind and rain this Monday. Good decision as the rain stopped from the beginning to the end of the walk. We even were blessed with some bright rays of sunshine filtering through . Neerijse is always such a treat except for the mud of course...We saw some very unusual flowers on our way...a shame Jane was not with us to tell us what it was! Perhaps someone can tell us the name of the plant on the photograph below. Thank you Tina for the photographs above. A herd of deer were resting under the trees and pheasants pecking in the field. Sue made us discover another hide we didn't know. Suddenly it was so hot that we had to peel off our anoraks. We saw some coots, ducks and swans, so nice to watch in their natural surroundings. Later on we met with Sheila and drove to our favourite place for pancakes and waffles, the cafe Rochus in Huldenberg. We are already looking forward to returning to Neerijse next month to rediscover with delight the lovely alleys of blossoming cherry trees.

Daffodil time

Friday 26th March - Chateau de la Hulpe

On a chilly day 20 brave WIC walkers and the lovely Bonnie arrived at the front of the Chateau. The weather brightened up as the walk continued. Paulette led us through beautiful tracks in the forest. We were surprised by a tiny black and white squirrel in the middle of our path, together with a mother toad carrying her babies on her back. It was like a nature walk. There were breathtaking carpets of wild daffodils all over the forest.

After an enjoyable afternoon, we went to the Cafe Homme Bleu for coffee, where we met up with three ladies who had taken a shorter walk.

Sorry ladies that there are no photographs today owing to author's lack of technical skill!

Paulette's Jesus-Eik walk - Monday 22 March 2010

We had 26 walkers in our group today for Paulette's walk through the forest at Jesus-Eik. The weather was warm and sunny and leaves were starting to appear on the trees. We all agreed that Spring has finally arrived in Belgium!

Thank you Paulette for organising this lovely walk for us.

Paulette's Jesus-Eik walk - Monday 22 March 2010

After our walk, all of us managed to find a space around the large table at Istas, where we enjoyed our drinks and some delicious pancakes with brown sugar and lemon. Yum!!

Deborah's walk in Woluwe 19th March 2010

Thank you Deborah for leading a very nice walk in the Woluwe area, different from the one we traditionally have.

For a change the weather was really mild, so much so that we had to peel off layers. As you can see the crocus are at their best and in full bloom. Check out the last photograph : it really looks as if a tortoise was wandering along the woods. A natural work of art! We walked for one and a half hours and then met up with Sheila and her group of 4 who were already enjoying their "petits gateaux" and coffee in our cafe of the Place des Mayeurs.

Wed., Mar. 17th - Sandy's Farewell to the WIC Walkers

Dear Walkers,
As I depart Brussels for a new life in the states I wanted to leave you with this, a familiar photo of me, from our walking friend, Yuko!!! Here's looking at ALL OF YOU ... I will be watching your splendid walks and activities ... here on the blog. Keep up the good work ... Sandy

PS. Posted from Sandy Springs, GA ... Yes, we did arrive!

PPS. Update - the Yahoo email address is NOT working - pls. contact me at my gmail address. Thanks, Sandy (24-3-10)

Paulette's walk in Ohain 15th March 2010

Thank you Jennifer for your GPS image of the walk.

We walked 4.96Km, took 1h 29m and used 272 calories. Heavens to Murgatroyd, isn't technology wonderful?

At long last the mild weather has reappeared and we had a lovely walk on the cobblestone paths of Ohain. 19 of us enjoyed the effort on the somewhat hilly walk, that meanders along narrow cuttings between properties. Snowdrops and crocus are in full bloom, so spring is indeed on the way. We met up with Sheila at a quaint tearoom in the centre of Lasne and sat at long tables, enjoying authentic hot chocolate made in a pan just like the good old days.

Lydia's and Lori's walk in the Bois de la Cambre

Today Lydia and Lori took 15 of us through the nice surroundings of the Bois de la Cambre. Thank you both for a lovely varied walk. A nice opportunity to say a final - and moving - au revoir to Sandy who is leaving Belgium next week. The winter foliage allowed us a glimpse of the ULB tower and the sumptuous properties on the av. Roosevelt. Lydia pointed out a new restaurant called Wood that we could try out next time and showed us many unusual ins and outs of the wood.

Lydia's and Lori's walk in the Bois de la Cambre

Refreshments were taken in a rather more elegant brasserie than usual. No long wooden tables here but comfortable banquettes. Sheila and the easy walkers were already waiting for us. The cappuccini were the real deal! Thank you to Lydia and Sandy for the nice photographs.

Paulette's walk in Alsemberg 8th March 2010

Thanks to the Google Earth image of Jennifer, we know now that we walked 6.87kms, took 1h 47 minutes and used 365 calories! Thanks Jennifer! At the beginning of the walk, we were all complaining about the continuous cold weather and icy wind but gradually, as we were walking fast and climbing many little hills in very varied landscapes, we felt better and were able to enjoy the pastoral scenes around us. The reward would be the discovery of the renovated tavern/restaurant "De Smidse" near the papermill which we passed by so many times on our way. Pour la petite histoire, De Smidse is one of the favourite restaurants of our very honorable President of the European Union Herman Van Rompuy. The person in charge of the tavern welcomed us very well which will encourage us to go back there next time. After nice refreshments and many exchanges, it was time to go back to the car park through lovely paths along fields full of goats and braying donkeys.

Fri., Mar.5th Veronique's Tervuren Wallk

This Friday was indeed a special walk as it was led by one of our newer walkers, Veronique! Not only did she do a marvelous job taking us around her neighborhood and beyond but she also entertained us with many home made delicasies in her comfortable home afterwards. Our "many thanks, Veronique" for such a lovely afternoon. The skies might have been leden but our spirits were high and we all had a marvelous time. Our 2 hour walk took us through some back areas of Tervuren as well as Moorsel and we were even able to check in with the horses in the stables nearby. This was reminicent of our "carrot walks" of the past.

Fri., Mar. 5th Veronique's Tervuren Walk

Our walk ended at Veronique's home where we met up with the Easy Walkers. All of us were able to enjoy our hostesses home made treats which she so lovingly prepared for us to enjoy! She had set up a nice long table for us on her sun porch so that we could all be together. We therefore stayed around for quite a while enjoying the afternoon. Paulette thanked our hostess on behalf of all the WIC Walkers. It is always wonderful when one of our walkers choses to entertain us in her home!!! Can we come back next week???