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! 

European Vacation 1 - Amsterdam

We were blessed to be able to spend nearly a month abroad in the European Union and want to share some highlights!! IF ONLY we could do this every year!

First and foremost, and as usual, we put a considerable amount of time into our preparation prior to departure, and recommend everyone traveling with a wheelchair do the same. Most of the summer was spent reading, researching, and reaching out to hotels and activity providers via email to make sure our vacation was as accessible as possible!  Finding hotels wasn't easy, and required persistence, and it helps to know exactly where you want to be and when. For the first 12 days of this 19 day excursion, we had my parents with us, so I had a buddy in planning - always a plus, thanks Mom! And to boot, Craig had a partner in access needs - my father is a "slow walker" due to MS. So as a foursome, we made a great travel team!  Can't wait to do it again!

Our itinerary was set last year, in late 2012, when United Airlines freed up its mileage plus block for September 3 to Amsterdam. From there we knew we were going to visit Belgium - where exactly and for how long was yet to be decided - and that we would end our vacation on September 19th and fly home from Paris.  SO all we had to do was fill in the blanks!

First stop: AMSTERDAM! Exciting....
In Amsterdam, it behooves one to stay near Dam Square, so that daily excursions could embark in any direction, on wheels or on tram, and not have far to go - or return.  So that's what we did. We found the Hotel Krasnapolsky to have one accessible room (which many hotels seem to have adapted - one and only one, so early booking is a must!). Despite some issues with air conditioning (who thought that would be an issue in September!), the room was awesome: roll-in shower, lots of room, comfortable bed, tiny but working elevator to the 2nd floor. In many other regards as well, this hotel was truly awesome. From the Winter Garden breakfast dining are complete with ramped entry to the free wi-fi and centralized location, Krasnapolsky is a great choice. On the high end of price, but well worth the bucks.

Our highlights in Amsterdam were many - too many to explain in at length, so we'll be brief:

• Dine with the pleasant locals at a pub in Dam Square, an Indian Restaurant off Spui (shpoh) Street, or a red light district coffee shop and you'll find that the people are easily the nicest on the continent. Chat them up, they'll open up their world to you. Dining highlights: Cafe Ouest, Kantji and Tijger, Cafe van Kerkwijk, and De Bolhoed. 
• Sit at any intersection in a busy part of the city and watch the bikes go by. It's truly wondrous!
• Ask for disability discounts at museums, most of them have them. We loved the Hortus Botanic Gardens and Rijksmuseum, and skipped Anne Frank (most inaccessible). The Royal Palace was passable (rooms started looking the same after a while, but the architecture is amazing). 
• Take a canal tour with City Canal Cruises - great lift down into the boat from the dock!
• Worry not about the taxis! All are eager to please, and if needed, ask for a van. 
• Worry even less about the trams! What a great way to get around, wheelchair seating is in the second half of the tram, make sure you find one with a wheelchair symbol (every, or every other one, every 10-20 minutes). 

All in all, this was Craig's favorite stop on our Euro-whirl-wind-tour. His reasons: the people- always his favorite is a friendly city!, the bikes - truly an entertaining passtime, and the Krasnapolsky! Nice work travel team!

Stay tuned for Belgium and France! 

Our highlights in photographs, as expected!

Steamboat's mountain boutique hotel is an accessible-friendly one

Last weekend we had the utmost pleasure to stay at the Inn at Steamboat, and back in the early spring we paid the property a visit to make sure the unit would be accessible for us.

A recently renovated boutique hotel tucked in the residential neighborhoods of the Steamboat mountain area, the Inn at Steamboat has new owners and a new face. Numerous upgrades proved beneficial to wheelchair users; spacious rooms with wider doors, this split-level 34-room lodge is much improved since Andy first toured it as a travel agent in 2002.

When we toured in the spring we asked owner Todd to make very few changes for those needing wheelchair access - remove the bathroom door (replace with temporary curtain if needed), get a shower chair with a back, and put in 1"per1' rise ramps to the front two doors, and that's about it! We were pleased to see that they took the initiative to make every effort to provide the best experience for Craig upon our arrival on Saturday.

Ramp images

Bathroom images

The rest of the property is very accessible - despite the split level. The driveway encompasses the building, so while check-in is at the upper level, one would simply park there and roll-in to check in, then drive back down to the ground floor to stay in one of the two "deluxe rooms with valley view" that are accessible and  nearest to the entry, ice, pool and the breakfast hall. Another added bonus for people with disabilities who need to keep medications cool, each room offers a small fridge.

In addition to the accessible efforts, the new owners have also won some awards of excellence and made green improvements (which as always, pleases us both!) including the 2013 Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor and the 2013 Green Leaders award from the same for using eco-friendly products and offsetting their carbon footprint with solar panels on the very steep south facing entry roof.

In addition, the rooms are gorgeous, the beds are plush, and the breakfast is hearty. What more can you ask?  When booking you next trip to Steamboat, fellow wheelies, think about this quaint little gem off the beaten path!

New dispatch system to speed arrival of wheelchair-accessible cabs in Chicago

Super proud of our friends at Open Doors Org for pushing this through!  Woohoo!

From Chicago Sun Times, June 19, 2013
Hundreds of times every month, passengers with disabilities call for taxicabs in Chicago only to have them either arrive hours late or not show up at all.

The nightmare could be over, thanks to a new dispatch system advanced by a City Council committee Wednesday that takes full advantage of the GPS system in every cab.
The contract authorizes Open Doors Organization, a non-profit disability advocacy group, to charge participating medallion owners $215-a-month—down from $275 currently–to subscribe to, what City Hall calls a 21st-century dispatch system.


Currently, the dispatch system is operated by Flash Cab using a central telephone number. Until pick-up, there is no communication between drive and passenger. If there’s a problem, passengers have to keep calling central dispatch and wait for dispatch to contact the driver. The city gets no share of revenues.


The new “SnagTechnology” system was developed in partnership with Driven Solutions LLC, a Humboldt Park technology start-up.


It will not only give the city a five percent cut of revenues. It will allow passengers to communicate directly with cabdrivers to speed arrival times and download an app that will allow them to visualize where all of the wheelchair-accessible cabs are and tap on the closest one.


Open Doors is also planning to distribute I-Pads or other tablets at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Rehabilitation Institute and other major hospitals to make it easier for discharged patients to hail a wheelchair-accessible cab, even if they don’t own a smart phone.


A “rewards program,” including free gas cards, for cabbies who provide the best service will “incentivize” participation, officials said.


“There are hundreds of rides every month that are not picked up. We plan on making that zero. We want every ride picked up. We hope we’ll be able to find out why every ride does not get picked up and then, create a solution so that every ride does get picked up,” said Eric Lipp, executive director of Open Doors.


“Our mission has always been to get people out of the house so we can show our force as consumers, which will then increase accessibility through demand…Representing people with disabilities, we’re able to not only do the dispatch, but train the drivers as well on accessibility things [such as] transfers, etiquette–all of those kinds of things that will be able to increase their business.”


Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), chairman of the City Council’s License Committee, called the dispatch upgrade long overdue.


“Some of the problems with [public] transportation is how long people have to wait for it. We need to cut down on all of that waiting,” Mitts said.


“This is something that needs to have happened. We need to not leave out our disabled and never forget. You never know when we’ll be there. And it gives them a sense of hope, of dignity and pride in being able to go” where they need to go.


Karen Tamley, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, said riders with disabilities are waiting “much longer than the general population” for cabs, when they arrive at all.


“This is gonna really help improve that system…There’s gonna be better tracking. There’s gonna be better monitoring of where cabs are. There’s gonna be more training,” Tamley said.


“Overall, there’s gonna be a lot more ability for the data to be collected, so we know where the issues are, where the problems are, where the breakdowns could be for people not being able to get cabs in a timely manner.”
Last year, the City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to reform the taxicab industry in a way that nearly doubled the number of wheelchair-accessible cabs—from 90-to-175.


It authorized wheelchair-accessible cabs to remain on the street for five years—with an option for a sixth-year—compared to a maximum street life of four years for non-accessible cabs.


High-tech dispatch is the next logical step, officials said.