European Vacation 3: Paris and beyond!

(continued from Europe 1: Amsterdam and Europe 2: Belgium) 

... After some struggles with train bookings and accessibility prep (see Belgium), we were on our way to gay Paris! 

The fast train is... FAST. In one hour we were jetted into the center of Paris via the TGH - who bumped us up to first class, and provided taxi service for us. The taxi driver was awesome, explaining monuments along the way to the Hotel Derby near the Eiffel Tower.

As with hotels in the previous three cities, we booked months in advance, and knowing there would be some barriers, such as the one step up to the front door and the narrow bathroom door, we booked the hotel for its compromises and its location, and in this case, its price. Our walk in rates for all hotels were nearly double what we'd paid for online, so do your research and book in advance!

We were only in Paris two nights, and that was a bit of a whirlwind - we'd hoped to trade in our vacation ownership for the entire stay in Paris, and unfortunately there wasn't much with access in the city, so we locked in the Marriott resort out near Disney (45 mi. east) when the trade came in, and added on two nights in Paris at the Derby.

While there we racked up 26 miles in two days on foot touring the Eiffel Tower, the Arc du Triomphe, the Louvre, the Notre Dame, the Palace Invalides, and a boat tour... 13 miles each day, in the pouring rain. Well equipped with rain gear we made do, and while neither the entire Arc nor the top of the Eiffel weren't accessible, getting up close and personal to both were worth it, as was the line at Notre Dame, the aimless backtracking at the Louvre (elevators are not ideally placed), and the boat tour. Our one recommendation on the boat tour: KNOW the two accessible stops - Eiffel and Orsay - because there are a plethora of stairs at the other six. Miraculously we lucked out on that one. Highlight of the day: Getting up close and personal to the Mona Lisa - wheelchairs roll right up to it!

In addition to the sites, we took in the food again here; quaint little restaurants that wowed: Royal Grenelle, Majaraja, and the best pan au chocolates, baguettes, and cappuccinos of our lives.

After Paris, we rented a car and toured the nearby countryside - and racked up some of our favorite memories of the trip while stationed at the gorgeous Marriott Ile de France Resort.

From here we headed down toward Loire and toured accessible Chateaus: Chambord, Chaumont and Amboise and checked out the towns of Vouvray, Tours and Blois, dining on the way home in Orleans. Four words: Thank God for Garmin. Easily the best $75 we spent all month.

One day we visited the nearby big cat reserve (awesome if you love big cats - very accessible park and up close and personal shots!) and made dinner at a countryside fresh veggie and meats stand. YUM, BRIE and homebrew!

We also toured the Champagne Region and had a full accessible tour of Mercier in Reims and a partially accessible tour in at Mumm in Reims - and lots of champange to accompany.

Last excursion - we drove out to Versaille and toured that - the trams were helpful here (they always helped Craig transfer on board) but overall this was perhaps wrong to do last, we were tired, short on time, and overall disinterested in the huge estate and gardens after the chateaus we'd seen in Loire. But it was free. Personal preference.

Very last, the Charles de Galle airport was... challenging. For an international airport, the accessibility is unimpressive. We waited for an hour to get an escort from the check in desk to bring us to the gate, due to some issue with elevators and ascending moving sidewalks that seemed do-able though they wouldn't let Craig near them. They did park us at the Red Carpet club for a half hour for the hassle, and escorted us through security smoothly, which was nice.

Overall, despite the language barrier at time, we were pleasantly surprised at France's access - not as universal as Amsterdam, but not as bad as we'd anticipated. And the entire three weeks? Truly a life enriching experience we'll treasure for the rest of our lives!

And last, France in Photographs: 

European Vacation 2: Belgium

... continued from European Vacation 1: Amsterdam...

After a wonderful few gorgeous 80* sunny days in Amsterdam, we packed up and headed south to Belgium, through beautiful countryside past windmills and zipping along for a few hours on the European highway in a poshy awesome private taxi. It worked out to be only slightly more than the train, and much easier for Craig and dad (keep reading for more about the train and potential access issues there!).

We arrived in Bruges on a Sunday, in the middle of market, and the street we needed to get to was blocked off with a bouncy house and food booths - quite hysterical, the circling and GPSing and persistence of our driver! - but finally we arrived at the adorably quaint, historic Hotel Navarra! As with the Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam, we booked Hotel Navarra many months in advance for its single accessible room and perfect location in the city. We were adjacent to the beautiful, also historic, Market Square. The room wasn't US-ADA coded like Krasnapolsky was, but it was manageable, and worth the small barriers to have the location and the historic beauty of this hotel. (Main barrier was the separate small stall for the toilet, but the shower had a hand-held and the sink was roll-under. And the pool, unfortunately, was down a flight of 500-year old stairs, but as I found, wasn't really worth it anyway, brrr!)

Historic, we found, in Europe, is nothing compared to what we can fathom for "historic."  It grabs your soul, this type of history, truly.  But for Craig, it grabs his wheels!  And by that I refer to the cobblestone... everywhere and ever present, the cobbles in Europe are a challenge, but not an insurmountable one! We are lucky for his knobby mountain wheels, stomach-muscles-balance, and ability to look a challenge in the face and laugh!  So very overlook-able when it comes to this gorgeous truly medieval city!

In Bruges, we had two days and packed it in, despite the rain!  The food just keeps getting better~ Pieter Pourbus and t/Zwaantje, waffles, chocolate and the ChocoStory museum, fat fat fries, and what would Belgium be without the BEER! Craig tried at least 20 beers in the 5 days we were in this great country, and every one of them were tasterific!

We did not make it up the umpteen stairs to the Bell Tower, and honestly, it wasn't missed - walking around the city was enough, and the view from the ground was just as spectacular! You could see this amazing tower from just about anywhere we walked to! The romantic canals, the Burg Square lunch, the Church of our Lady~ all wonderful, LOVED Bruges!

On to Brussels - and our lessons with the European train! We took two trains: From Bruges to Brussels, and then from Brussels to Paris. And both times, they wanted a day or two warning that we were coming (in Bruges they got no warning and wanted one day's, in Brussels they got one day and wanted two). Both times we had a bit of a language barrier as well but made it work (note to self, really commit to brushing up on the French!). And but both times we managed to sweet talk our way on - waiting an extra 30-45 minutes longer, all for a ramp that was walking distance from the train - but the issue is making sure the train has the right build and logistics for the ramp.  A plus: for the fast train to Paris, we were bumped up to first class because, oh darn, that's the only accessible car. Double-plus: it was 1/3 the price!

And Brussels: wow, the food! Restaurant Alexandre was unquestionably the best meal of my life. Mussels at Taverne Passage weren't too shabby either!  Food is better when enjoyed together, so it was also a blessing to be dining with family in this far away place! Each cup of coffee, each chocolate waffle, every fat french fry - what a tasty treat, made even better with more to ooh-and-ahh!

In Brussels we were just off Grande Place at the Hotel Ibis. A quaint little mod hotel with a small but accessible room. It had a tub that Craig just sat in to shower, but overall a big big bathroom to move around in, almost as big as the hotel room itself!

It was hard to pull ourselves too far away from Grande Place, and we did walk pretty far to museums and gardens, and were challenged by the hills - a new challenge is a good one, we got some exercise, but a little too much for dad. Tiring way to end their vacation, they were excited to head home and rest!

And then Mr. Craig and I moved on to France!  More to come~

In the meantime, highlights in photographs from Belgium! 

Let the Camping Begin!

In 2009 we put out this camping focused issue of The Traveler that holds its ground well four years later, and we thought we'd post it again for those of you who love to camp, are new to camping, or are dying to get out in the woods despite your disability.

Check it out for Top Fives of Equipment, Campsites, Parks, and Trails... and plenty more!

As we head out into the woods ourselves these next few weeks (9 days in Maine, 5 days in upstate New York!), we will make sure to post our findings in that area - we're excited to see Acadia National Park for the first time!

Kickstart helps PWD relearn to walk

From Cadence Biomedical
Imagine if you could leave your wheelchair behind and get back to doing the activities you love again. Cadence Biomedical in Seattle recently created Kickstart, the world’s first Kinetic Orthosis to enable walking for those recovering from strokes, spinal cord injuries, MS and other neurological injuries. Unlike many braces, Kickstart provides stability as well as assistance with swinging your whole leg through by guiding and propelling your legs to move the way they are supposed to. Kickstart can offer users greater endurance to get where they want, a sense of confidence, and freedom to move - all without the expense of robotic devices.

Donna (a stroke survivor, travel enthusiast, and Kickstart user) had a stroke twenty years ago and couldn’t walk more than a block at a time. She relied on a Segway for mobility until she found Kickstart. With Kickstart, she has been able to increase her endurance (and longer uses a Segway) and reduce hip pain from improved gait.


“Kickstart has really changed my life.  I used to be kind of sedentary because I was trying to save myself from that hip replacement operation that I’m hoping I’m not going to have to have now.  So now I do three days a week adaptive PE, two days a week of OT clinic, and now I got my husband to commit to ballroom dancing.  We’re working our way up to that trip to China.”

“If I did any kind of walking at all, I had so much pain that I had to take a couple of naproxin.  So now I can go anywhere, I can walk most anywhere, and I can walk around the house without a cane – most of the time actually.  And I’m more stable when I stand up.”

Kickstart is custom fit to individual patients by Cadence-trained Orthotists across the country. Patients may use Cadence Biomedical’s Patient Contact Form to receive more information, or call directly at (206) 659-0614.

Learn more at http://www.cadencebiomedical.com/

Ski Steamboat, Gets an A+ for Access

Do you Ski Steamboat?

 

Steamboat's always making improvements, and always thinking of access when they do.  We noticed bright new lift line signage (above) and wider adaptive lanes as we loaded the Christy sixpack for the first ride this year, always great to see updated and accurate, helpful signage!  This is one easy access fix many resorts don't think about; directional signage is key!

Other developments at the base include an accessible new Umbrella Bar and deck outside the Bear River, and a new paved system that runs from the Sheraton to One Steamboat Place that will be heated as of next ski season- this year be patient with the base maintenance crew as they try and keep up with the abundance of snow!

Steamboat employees also get a training session on Customers with Disabilities, and the staff always sends us excellent comments and feedback about their appreciation of this training that we've been doing since 2006; Steamboat's staff truly aims to please!

Steamboat's adaptive program STARS is ramping up this year, training more instructors than ever before, and growing its program with each season, so more and more adaptive skiers will be present at our mountain!

The restaurant scene in Steamboat is widely accessible, with only one restaurant without an accessible entrance (due to stairs)! And lodging here is also widely accessible.

So if you don't ski Steamboat, you should!

Royal Caribbean Cruises assessment for access

We've been touring Celebrity boats with Open Doors Org for 3 days and what a whirlwind of rolling through levels upon levels with our rulers, notebooks, and camera!

Despite having found a ship-full of suggested improvements, all in all we're extremely impressed with the three ships we checked out for: The Constellation, The Century, and the Solstice, and feel they're way above the curve when it comes to the rest of the industry. We've stood by Royal Caribbean for years now; and glad that Celebrity is part of this trusted family.

Having never cruised ourselves, we are always impressed with the floating cities (we've toured other ships through SATH conferences), and how generally accessible and accommodating they are to travelers with disabilities.  The list of access features is extensive- wide doors, tons of wayfinding signage, service dog relief areas, accessible spas, ramps and more ramps, large print menus, TTY packets, and rails and handbars everywhere. Worth note, the accessible rooms are spacious and better than most hotels we've seen! With libraries, casinos, multiple dining choices, decks and pools, cinemas and theaters, galleries and stores, the temptation to start cruising has set in on Access Anything!

But as was our reason to be there, we found many recommendations however, which should please our readers - though the industry has come a long way, there is still plenty of the hill to climb towards total universal design.  Of most importance to us is the alternative ways to disembarking at ports along the way - as many of the side stops and day trips in smaller ports are still inaccessible to PWD, and being the adventure promoters that we are, this is a key feature for us to consider cruising overall.

The recommendation packet is of course confidential, but we're excited that RC and Celebrity have dedicated their 2011 goals to improve their accessibility and set an industry standard that the rest will have to live up to! 

Have faith that your special needs will be well taken care of with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity!


Images:
Some great amenities:

Some suggestions: