Nath, Author at The Wheelchair Traveller

Day 3 (Florence) – Wonders of Florence

Today was a ‘train’ day (let’s call these days this from now on!) as we headed down to Florence on the Frecciarossa from Milano Centrale. When booking, I was instructed to be at the assistance point 30 minutes prior to departure (one is usually told this in the UK, however 30 minutes means 10 with me, thought I would behave this time) and, like that, a guy from Sala Blu (Assistance division of Italian Railways) was waiting for us to assist through the station and onto the subsequent train…

It always intrigues the way that different countries load Superbunny onto trains, the majority of European countries use swivel lifts and Italy is no exception (bar the fact that this one actually worked unlike Croatia!). The swivel lift is a simple piece of equipment where you drive on, it lifts up to the level of said train and then staff twist the thing so you can drive straight onto the train (although nothing can beat a good old ramp to whizz down when one is in a rush in the UK!)…

Spacious wheelchair space also…

After reaching speeds of 300km/h through the Italian countryside, said train pulled into Florence. When visiting European cities, there is always the issue surrounding level access into restaurants (even in Milan) thus I was pleasantly surprised to have a plethora of accessible restaurants to choose from, perhaps due to the number of tourists?

Our first stop was to marvel at the gigantic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore which is much taller than imagined…

The accessibility entrance is located to the side although not signposted whatsoever…just bang on the door with a ramp until someone let’s you in! Again, disabled individuals can enter for FREE!

All the main sights of Florence such as the Ponte Vecchio and Pitti Palace are within walking distance and can be done in a few hours…

Providing that you stick to the pedestrianised centre, everything is pretty accessible. Granted that there is a small number of cobbled streets, however, Superbunny seemed to have no problem tackling these (either that or one has become accustomed to such areas after visiting Riga in Latvia or Tallinn in Estonia). The issues start when you begin to venture out of the centre where the pavements narrow considerably and you have buses approaching that are the width of the road…good for hunting Gelato places though!

As our train back to Milan wasn’t until 20:55, there was plenty of time to sample the Tuscan cuisine and general wandering. Outside the city centre, Florence is home to a tram network which uses modern rolling stock with level access alongside buses with conventional ramps.

Although our wandering and cuisine sampling was passing the time, it was decided that we would try our luck catch the 19:55 train instead (trains from Milan to Naples stopping at Florence seem to run every hour). With the assistance of Sala Blu, we were able to change our tickets for just 5 euro per person.

Tomorrow, we explore the modern side of Milan by catching the M5 to the CityLife district with a visit to the Branca Tower to round off this Italian adventure.

Day 2 (Milan) – Landmarks and Metros

Last week, Milan experienced a powerful tornado thus you are likely to stumble across fallen trees (even a crushed car near the hotel) if you are wandering around the city currently which is a little difficult if it’s blocking the pavement!

As a result, a few parks were closed thus it was the road way down to the centre, quite pleasant to wander the streets without watching out for potholes or drop curbs for once…

Eventually, the marvel of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II presented itself before us, it probably goes without saying that it is nice and accessible whilst packed full of designer shops and restaurants…

Rolling through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II leads you swiftly to the Duomo di Milano…

Now, as I am attempting to do this trip on a budget, I was in two minds whether to go inside. However it transpires that a disabled individual and one companion can enter for FREE and, even better, access the rooftop via a lift…who wouldn’t say no to that!!

I will say that the walkway to access the rooftop from the lift is quite narrow, Superbunny only just managed it (with a little manpower). However it provides panoramic views over the city…

The next stop on the list (bar McDonalds) was the Naviglio Grande canal located to the South of the city for some food. Now, you know how picky one is about restaurants being inside away from my furry friends, we found a nice quiet restaurant without many pigeons around, 10 minutes later, the outside seating became a bird party. This was fine until the people seated started to become frustrated with said birds and, yes, a few decided to fly in for a brief moment before realising that it was the inside. Needless to say, the owners had to close every door and window for one to re-enter!

Anyway, after that ordeal, it was time to sample the Milan metro, however, before I discuss that, let’s briefly talk trams. The city uses two types of rolling stock (as in many European places), unfortunately Milan opts for the older stock on the majority of lines (perhaps to maintain the feel of Milan?) which are completely inaccessible with steps leading up to the vehicle hence the metro or the buses are the best way to traverse the city in a wheelchair.

Milan has 4 metro lines with another under construction (as of 2023) with nearly every station being accessible. However, it is worth noting that some stations have stair lifts rather than elevators which can be confusing if you are used to seeking out lifts in back alleys…

From prior research, I knew that the rolling stock on the M1, M2 and M3 had quite a big gap and step up hence needed to ask the staff for a portable ramp. As per the London Underground, the staff contacted the destination station with ones location in order for Superbunny to get back off…

Tomorrow, we head back to Milano Centrale to board the Frecciarossa (high speed train) to Florence taking just 2 hours! Who knows what Florence has to offer a wheelchair user…

Day 1 (Milan) – Milan Malpensa Airport Express

It may seem incomprehensible that one has visited over 40 countries but is yet to visit Italy which is practically on the UK’s doorstep? Well not any more as the exploration of Milan and Florence begins.

With a few new cables for Superbunny and the Cerberus heatwave keeping to the south (for now!), we took the 1.75 hour flight from Bristol landing in Milan to 27C. Upon disembarking onto the ambulift (which arrived before the passenger shuttles…now that is efficiency!), the captain explained that they were unable to turn off the chair in Bristol. Most airports would simply leave it after checking that it wouldn’t move but no, Bristol had to mess around with the cables and rip apart the one that I have yet to replace meaning that the chair won’t turn on unless the connection has been made (swear that one should train to be an engineer), Ahh well, perhaps by the next trip to Armenia, every cable will be brand new!

Anyway, enough of the usual airport drama, let’s discuss the Milan Malpensa Airport Express which transports you from the terminal to Milano Centrale in around 60 minutes (slightly longer from T2). As one had already bought tickets online (saving around £40), we headed onto the platform in the hope of catching said train that was scheduled to leave in 1 minute. Luckily, the driver saw some British tourists approaching and kindly waited for us to board. Akin to the Heathrow Express in London, the train doors are level with the platform (well, there is a really small gap if we are getting picky!) thus easy to roll on and off.

Our hotel (ibis Milano Centro) is conveniently situated around 10 minute walk from Milano Centro making it easy access to said train, the metro network and high-speed train services (which we will be using to travel to Florence)…wonder who booked that?

Tomorrow we plan to head into the centre and take in the usual tourists sights including the Duomo di Milano and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II plus sampling the Milan Metro.

(I must say that it is nice to be back in a city with actual drop curbs!)

Day 5 (Athens) – Athens International Airport

The answer to that is a surprising yes! As Athens is a major airport similar to London Heathrow or Gatwick, checking in an electric wheelchair seemed to be a breeze for staff making the journey to the plane go without a hitch for once (bar having to inform the baggage handlers that it’s not possible to take the whole controller off!)

After a mini tour of the UK with work and a few running repairs to Superbunny (most likely caused by the amount of wheeling up and down drop kerbs that didn’t exist!), I will be travelling to Italy for the first time (even though it’s so close to the UK!) on the 26th July. During this, one will be exploring Milan and taking the high speed train to Florence!

Day 4 (Athens) – A General Wander

The noise of said dual carriageway was replaced by the sound of music emanating from the nearby Athens Concert Hall last night, what better way to fall asleep than listening to a bit of Greek music?

As mentioned yesterday, the plan for today was to head down to Piraeus (again!) on the M3 to take a stroll along the waterfront taking in the sights of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. However, you may be wondering also what is happening with the Acropolis situation? After several attempts, the hotel managed to contact said attraction last night who informed them that the elevator had been fixed but only for a few hours before braking again! The thought then crossed my mind, what if I get stuck up there with Superbunny and have to wait hours on end until it is fixed, do I really want to to take that risk? Rather not!

Anyway, the M3 was, again, successful in transporting us down to Dimotiko Theatro (which is located in Piraeus) to make a connection with the tram. This metro line has been invaluable for the past few days taking one from the airport, down to the ferry terminal and connecting with the trams. I think Athens may have given a calling as the latter two stations only opened in October 2022!

The tram stop is located adjacent to the metro station elevator and is like any other modern tram network with level access etc. Some lines go up to near the Acropolis but we decided to take a journey along the waterfront. What one thought was the stop for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center was actually the one for the Peace and Friendship Stadium, still an architectural marvel nonetheless…

It needs to be said that the area around the stadium and waterfront is a story of two tales; on one hand you have a thriving harbour dotted with restaurants offering a variety of Mediterranean cuisine (including grilled squid) and on the other you have half constructed and abandoned apartments, perhaps as a result of the Greek financial crisis? Oh and a bridge over a waterway with planks either missing or bodged with wooden boards…not for the faint hearted!!

As usual, trusty Google Maps decided to take us on a tour of Piraeus before heading back to the M3…who knew it could be so hilly…

Tomorrow we head back to old Bristol via Athens International, question is will they look after Superbunny?

(Oh and if you are in Athens, you need to try the cakes at ΑΤΤΙΚΑ Αρτοποιεία!)

Day 3 (Greece) – The Accessible Island of Aegina

In order to put the rest of this post into context, let’s begin by talking about this semi-accessible hotel. Now, on the Hotels.com website, it states that The Athinais Hotel has all the accessibility features one could ever need, this is certainly not the case!

Even before reaching ones room, the elevators have been designed for a maximum of 2 people (unsure if this was intentional) hence Superbunny can only just fit in with millimetres to spare. Once you have reached said hotel room, one is pretty sure that the majority of wheelchair users would have to rearrange the furniture to suit as there isn’t enough room to even turn around! Oh and try to sit comfortably on this toilet…

As I mentioned yesterday, the hotel is situated along a busy dual carriageway so, common sense says that some kind of sound proofing would be required…not here! As in any major city, traffic in Athens is 24/7, who needs sleep anyway!

The relentless noise of traffic and motorcycles using said road as a racetrack at 2am meant that only 2 hours of sleep was achieved by 6.30am and, regardless of the amount of sugar intake, it is impossible to function on that short amount hence the Crete idea was dismissed. When researching for things to do prior to visiting, I noted that it is possible to visit various Greek islands by car ferry from the port of Piraeus located within the city boundaries and accessible from the M3 metro.

As there are many companies operating to and from Piraeus, one decided to take the risk and bring Superbunny praying that one ferry would be accessible. The thought then struck me after years of travelling, if vehicles are allowed on these big ferries, surely a ramp is present regardless? After visiting the ticket office, we managed to secure tickets on a vehicle ferry to the island of Aegina which is a 75 minute journey from Piraeus…

Although slightly complex, ramps and elevators were present enabling one to reach the passenger deck…

You can then simply disembark with the vehicles, genius! One will definitely remember this method of transport for the future…

When researching the accessibility of Greek islands, the majority of posts discussed how inaccessible such places are bar the ‘main’ ones i.e. Crete. As a result, one really didn’t know what to expect, especially as the island of Aegina was chosen purely at random at the ticket office!

During the first few minutes of being on the island, it was clear that accessibility had been considered as ramps and level access into shops and restaurants were noticeable (putting Athens to shame!). Even drop kerbs are painted…

Now, this is me we are talking about and everyone knows how I like to stray away from the tourist areas and attempt to gain an insight into daily life hence a wander around the immediate neighbourhoods was necessary…

Even the local cafés/hangouts had level access, come on Athens! After sampling some Greek cuisine and wandering around more arachnology, it was time to head back to the ferry, however I would highly recommend making a trip if you find yourself in Athens. I was also told to give a shout out to Saronic Ferries for their accessibility features so there it is!

The good news is that one has managed to switch to another hotel room over the other side of the building so hopefully normal sleeping hours will resume!

Tomorrows plan is to visit the waterfront area including the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre.

Day 2 (Athens) – Greek Mythology and History

Whilst temperatures are currently in the high 20Cs back in the UK, one received multiple drenchings in Athens…OK that is slightly OTT but you get the message, it was a little wet! Anyway, we headed out on our mythological quest regardless.

When I booked this semi-accessible hotel, the attraction was (in addition to said M3 metro) that it is situated along one of the main roads into the centre meaning that the majority of things are in walking distance. What one didn’t bargain for was that it is a busy dual carriageway and the drop kerbs are either in a pothole or non existent (even though a wheelchair sign is painted on the floor a metre away from a giant pavement stone…just how is that accessible?)!

The first sight that we stumbled across was the first ever stadium built for the modern Olympics. You have to pay to get in but what we didn’t realise until later is that disabled individuals and one carer receive FREE access to attractions including this and The Acropolis…

As I say, the majority of the sights are in walking distance so a short walk through the park led us to the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. There are ramps around the sites, however they could do with some work but alternative ways are available!

Now to follow the tourists to The Acropolis! However, to access the elevator up to the top, you have the additional delight of trudging up a hill only to be told that the thing is out of order and to come back another day therefore the plan is to call on Thursday and see what is occurring…

As we wound our way through the picturesque Plaka neighbourhood with it’s multiple alleyways i.e. stairways and steep roads, the clouds began to form…

Despite all our best efforts to seek an accessible restaurant for Superbunny and with the deluge showing no signs of stopping, we retreated back to the hotel.

Day 1 (Athens) – What is going on Bristol?

Well, round two of ones 2023 travels has begun, this time in Greece! Flying out of Bristol, it is clear that the rapid expansion is having an effect as one, now has to arrive at the airside assistance point ONE HOUR before departure to enable said individuals to provide the necessary equipment to board the plane. Despite this, we were sat on the airfield for 30 minutes in the Ambulift as someone decided to let all passengers on before muggins which is always great fun…

Anyway, 3 hours and 45 minutes of flying and circling later, one touched down at Athens International airport. For those of you who wish for a fun fact, Athens International was constructed in the early 2000s in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games! As it is located just outside the city, it allowed space for an extensive transport network, even the suburban railway stops there in addition to the M3 metro.

Factors such as the time of our arrival (20:00) may have influenced the efficiently of the airside assistance, however, we may have just set a new world record for the time between physically landing and exiting the airport.

Of course, if there is a metro or a train from any airport in the world to the city, one just can’t resist giving it a go! The M3 runs from the airport through the city and out to the cruise terminal (quite a nifty idea!) and departs every 30 (or less) minutes. As usual, I booked a hotel a few minutes walk away from a station. One good thing about the Athens metro is that the majority of stations have elevators giving you a little more choice. As the M3 is relatively new, the majority of stations in the centre provide level access from the train to the platform. However, going out to the airport is a different story after the M3 joins the suburban railway, the gaps are very large bar at the airport station.

49 minutes later and we arrived at our semi accessible hotel! Speaking of tomorrow, we plan to head down and take in the world famous sights such as The Acropolis, Temple of Zeus etc.

Day 4 (Malta) – Rough Seas and The Malta Airport Experience

As mentioned previously, we began the day by heading over from the hotel and boarding a 90 minute cruise around the harbour and the ‘creeks’ around Valletta. As I simply booked whatever was available yesterday, the boat wasn’t accessible whatsoever, however, there are a few ‘Hop On, Hop Off’ cruises from Sliema with wider gangways although one still has the issue of getting down to the mooring.

Anyway, the cruise is a great way to see what Valletta offers from a distance (including Popeye’s restored ship) despite the rough seas of the Mediterranean (which I always envisaged to be calm!)…

Heathrow was then calling as we disembarked hence we headed back to the hotel to catch the booked airport taxi. As I predicted, the company began by sending an ordinary taxi. Luckily, the accessible taxi was available at that time meaning a smooth journey out to the airport. As we queued up for check in, assistance spotted us and, very helpfully, completed the relevant paperwork with us all the way to the plane. Only thing was a delay of 80 minutes.

As we know, its common for LHR to take their sweet time to unload Superbunny, not this time, it was the first thing out of the hold and rushed up to the airbridge to greet us…perhaps the heavy rain had something to do with it? Think it may have set a new record for getting out of said airport!

On the 12th June, one will be returning to Southern Europe, this time to Athens in Greece where I will also be hopping over to Heraklion (Crete) for the day.

Day 3 (Malta) – Gozo? Appears not…

The plan for today was to catch the bus (500m from the hotel) up to Cirkewwa where it is then possible to board the ferry over to the island of Gozo, however this is me that we are talking about!

I made the decision to take Superbunny today as Gozo is a little more accessible than Valletta thus we began the day by walking to said bus stop. The bus arrived on time (every 30 minutes), however, in true style, a pushchair was already occupying the wheelchair space refusing to move. Now, when I am travelling across the UK, one experiences this issue regularly so it is second nature to me simply to wait for the next one hoping to god that the space will be free. However, a local took it upon himself to begin arguing with the driver and had to be escorted off said bus. Sadly, he didn’t achieve anything but it was definitely an eye opener into ones life for the PAs at least.

It was then so that the bus drove off into the distance and then we waited…waited and waited…the bus never showed. By this time, it was past 12 meaning that we would not arrive at Gozo until 3pmish rendering it a little pointless. The alternative plan was to catch a harbour cruise, however the majority leave in the morning rather than at 2pm. The good news is that we have secured a spot for tomorrow morning before we leave for the airport!

Now at a loose end, it was agreed that another trip over to Valletta was in order, at least it was a little quieter than yesterday…

Let’s see if tomorrow is more fruitful before heading back to Heathrow…

Nath