Janet's Christmas Walk

The predicted snow stayed away and 13 of us met for a brisk (due to the almost freezing temperature) city walk. No silly hats this year!

Sheila (who we met up with at the cafe at the end) and I were delighted to welcome back Pauline who left the walking group when she returned to the UK some years ago, and we were also joined by Laura (my daughter - not in the picture below!)

We took a very indirect route from Parc to Place St. Catherine - including the Petit Sablon, Parc Egmont, Louise, the Marolle area, L'église Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours (where we briefly sheltered in the warm!) and the Grand Place.

We were pleased to get some hot drinks and, in some cases, delicious chips in the cafe by the ice rink in Place St. Catherine. And by happy chance we arrived at exactly the same time as Sheila & Kyung Sook! Janet

Paulette's walk in the Foret de Soignes from the Welriekende Dreef on December 16th 2011

Although the weather forecast was rather pessimistic, 5 of us decided to meet at the car park of the Welriekende Dreef. Belgium was in the eye of the storm, so the wind had fallen and the forest was welcoming again. Nevertheless the rain accompanied us from beginning to end. And our little group was very glad indeed to warm itself at Istas.

Margaret's Walk in Sterrebeek

After a night of heavy rain and a grey and damp morning, we were delighted to meet at the old race track at Sterrebeek under clear blue skies in lovely fresh walking weather. Well organised Margaret!!

Margaret had warned us that it might be a muddy walk ....


but it was by no means as bad as Friday's walk had been! And we had plenty of time to look away from our feet and enjoy the winter scenery.

The blue skies followed our walk ...

well, most of it!

We ended our walk at The Yearling, where we were delighted to meet up with Sheila & Keith who had taken an alternative walk. Thank you Margaret for a lovely afternoon's walking!

Christmas Walk and Lunch on 9th December 2011

31 ladies met at the Auberge de la Roseraie today to celebrate our traditional Christmas lunch. After an invigorating walk in Ohain’s countryside, we were very happy to sit together and enjoy the restaurant’s delicious food in lovely, warm surroundings. We had the choice between two fantastic menus which were both refined and beautifully presented: the first one was pumpkin velouté with a hint of hazelnut followed by wild boar fillet, little pear with cranberries, grand veneur sauce and finally iced nougat with raspberry sauce as a dessert; the second one was beef carpaccio, arugula salad and parmesan, followed by cod filet, shrimp puree and chive with a crème brulée au café and all this plus café and mignardises.

Paulette thanked all the walkers for their participation in this year’s walks and especially all the ladies who volunteered to lead walks in 2011. There was a recap of all the great walks we did this year. Later on, Janet and Margaret on behalf of the group, thanked Sheila and Paulette for their leadership. Everyone agreed that the venue was terrific and that we should reiterate the experience again next year.

Bonnie's Huldenberg walk

Eighteen of us wrapped up warm and met in Huldenberg for an invigorating walk on a sunny but cold day. We were led by Bonnie and shepherded along by Daisy, the new dog on the walk.
Heavy rain overnight had left muddy paths and pond-sized puddles, but these were nimbly negotiated or skirted by our intrepid band. The pace was brisk, even uphill, thanks to the chilly little wind that was blowing.
Sights along the way included a very large bird of prey (an eagle?). Paulette's knowledge of birds would have been invaluable! And where was Jane Geers when there were giant unfamiliar plants to be identified? (It's OK Jane, we know you're off to the sun!)
We were all ready for a hot drink by the time we reached Rochus, where we found Sheila and Vyvyan already enjoying the famous pancakes, as several other members of the group were also quick to do!
Thank you, Bonnie, for a lovely walk that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Many thanks to Margaret for the photos and write-up of today's walk.

Paulette's walk in Jesus Eik on 2nd December 2011

Our itinerary took 15 of us from Jesus-Eik through the forest to the Quatre-Bras then to the Arboretum where we met the easy walkers. From there we made a big loop to come back to Kapucijnendreef and the cafe Istas. All this within 1 hour 45 minutes in good weather conditions.