Europe - July 2015 Archives - Page 2 of 2

Day 5 – I need to remember to charge my phone!

After a late start this morning, we went out for one last stroll around Marseille before we caught our train to Geneva at quarter to 2. Over the past 2 and a half days I have come to realise just how dirty the city is but at the same time how it possesses some marvellous arcitechture.

We headed to Marseille St Charles station about 1 o’clock to ensure we were there in plenty of time (oh and because I wanted to go train spotting!) to make sure that all the assistance was in place. The French TGVs themselves are low floor so there is little gap between the train and the platform edge, however once inside there is a step down into the carrige. To overcome this obstacle, there is ingenious invention where the floor raises up to the top of the step and then lowers back down so you can enter. It was quite difficult for super bunny to manoeuvre as the area is quite tight getting in and out but I think it would be easy using a front wheel drive wheelchair like bad bunny which I have at home.

As the train set off for its voyage to Geneva, I discovered that I hadn’t charged my phone the night before and the sockets on the train didn’t seem to work which meant that we were rather clueless as to the whereabouts of our hotel in Geneva! Anyway, getting off the train was quite straight forward after the train staff had worked out that the ramp was in the platform which the could use.

As we were without a phone and Google maps, we hunted down a map and tried to figure where our hotel was and decided to ask for help in a shop. The woman in the shop proceeded to tell us that it was too far for us to walk and that we would have to get a taxi or a bus. Over the past couple of years, I have come to find that wheelchair accessible taxis and Europe do not mix and as a result there was no wheelchair accessible taxis in Geneva. We decided the easiest way to get to the hotel with our bags was to send one person in a taxi whilst the other walked with me and that was the point which we discovered that the hotel is around 13 minutes away but oh well now we know!

Tomorrow is our only day in Geneva so we plan to head down to the lake to see a lovely fountain, as well as visit the UN.

See you tomorrow 🙂

Day 4 – Marseille public transport system, Notre Dame and a colourful skyscraper

We woke up to another hot and sunny day in Marseille and headed out straight after breakfast to see Notre Dame, which is basically a church which overlooks the whole of Marseille presenting stunning views across the whole city for the who visit

We were unsure of how accessible it would be to get there but one of my PA’s found a little road train which takes you to the top, which on their website claims to be wheelchair accessible – which it is clearly not! Following that and after googling a bus route we found one and prayed it was accessible. The buses in Marseille are similar to the ones that can be found in London, where automatic ramps are deployed from the side, so it was simple to get on and off.

Once at the top, I was surprised to see that there was a lift which takes you to the top of the church, The Basilica of Notre Dame. Most of which is totally accessible despite all the steps which can be seen on arrival.

After my PAs taking a few selfies and my camera battery nearly dead, we decided to head back to the hotel for lunch while the camera recharged. It was then time for another method of public transportation in the form of a tram in order to get to the tallest skyscraper in Marseille. The trams themselves have low floors so there are no gaps whatsoever between the tram and the platform edge, making it easily accessible. The public transportation system in Marseille surprised me as research indicated it wasn’t great as a wheelchair can’t access the metro. Saying that, the buses and trams take you most places anyway.

We reached the skyscraper and all its glory –

As with all modern architecture, I took a million photos before heading back on the tram into the centre. Also, I may have found a new ringtone to replace the existing French train announcement, that’s if I can find it!

Next stop was visiting the bridge connecting the museum to Fort Saint Jean which is a feat of engineering in itself. Apart from trying to find a suitable route up to it, we reached the other side and found ourselves in the old part of Marseille which is never good for wheelchair access but we managed to find our way down, taking a few detours to discover drop curbs.

Today was our last day in Marseille as we travel to Geneva tomorrow afternoon by train, which we house be interesting as I booked assistance but who knows if it will turn up, fingers crossed!

See you Switzerland!

Day 3 – A lovely boat trip

Oh I forgot this morning to mention that when we arrived at the hotel, despite ringing them twice prior to coming, they were still unable to other the three rooms we requested to be close to one another. Oh and they were unable to other me a disabled room, “we are full”. Luckily today they were able to offer us the three rooms which we requested previously, which are on the same floor.

We started out the day with a trip down to the port to purchase tickets for a boat tour around Marseille. We were little worried about the stairs onto the boat so we decided to take my manual wheelchair just in case. However, there was no need to worry as there was a platform at the rear of the boat which didn’t involve any steps.

After this, we returned to the hotel to relax for a while before heading out for something to eat, somewhere a pigeon was not able to get me.

(A nice building on the way back to the hotel)

The strategy for tomorrow is to visit Notre Dam in the morning and then attempt the tram to see a a skyscraper (my second favourite thing after train stations!), then finally visit the Museum of Mediterranean culture, or rather the bridge which you need to walk across to access it.

See you tomorrow

Day 2 – Going under the sea

Well I jinxed it, oops! Anyway yesterday we woke up around 5am to catch the 07:18 Eurostar service to Marseille from London St. Pancras international in which I could marvel at the architecture. The accessibility of Eurostar is quite good until you get into the carrige where the space is a bit tight and there is a seat right next to you so moneuovering is quite hard. It came as a surprise that the table seats that were in front of us were all free so I decided to get out my chair and sit at the table which was probably comfier than sitting in super bunny for 6.5 hours!

After watching the fantastic French scenery as we travelled down the country, we arrived at Marseille St Charles station. As expected, you could tell the difference straight away in temperature as the train doors opened without a ramp to be seen . However after a minute, it arrived in all its glory. Countries in Europe seem to always have weird contraptions to help me get on and off trains, this time it was a little lift, doesn’t beat the fork lift though in Switzerland back in 2013. It took a while to work out how to exit the station as the main entrance is compromised off massive staircase leading down from the station into the wonderful city. It took a while to work out where disabled access down was but then we managed to get out. As with loads of train stations, the area around is rather dodgey. Why do I always pick them most dodgiest areas!?

A couple of hours later, we went for a stroll along the harbour to discover how and when the boats tours are which we plan to do later today. As I have a phobia of pigeons it took a while to find somewhere to have dinner that was both the accessible and inside. In the end, we resorted to a random hotel but it was good food. We were all tired and returned to our hotel around 10pm.

Today, we plan to visit Fort Saint-Jean and the Musee des civilisations de l’europ et de la Mediterranee which is a cool building and the Marseille Cathedral and then a boat tour around Calanque.

Keep watching our twitter:)

Day 1 – The start of trains!

So here we are in lovely London for the start of another fabulous holiday expedition around Europe! We decided to get the train to London Paddington on which there were no wheelchair spaces in standard class ( free upgrade to first class). When you think of first class, you think everything will be just so, however, these are British trains so disabled people are not always at the forefront of their creations plus it was built in the 1970’s or 1980’s!

Superbunny could only just fit through the gap between the luggage rack, just! However after a little mounavering, we arrived into Paddington on time, with its magnificent architecture. Which by the way has nearly a few weeks left until the station has finished it’s renovation.

I only discovered weeks back when I came to visit a friend that there is an accessible underground station in Paddington which has step free access onto to the Circle and the Hammersmith and City line which we needed get on to get to St Pancreas International. However today is the beginning of a 24hour strike and we arrived in 90 minutes before it was due to start. It always amazes me how the end carriages on tube trains are always nearly empty, which I use to my advantage as it was manic.

Outside St Pancreas station, we found our way to the hotel and checked in without any problems (I have probably jinked it now). The room is nice enough and basically what you get in a normal Ibis hotel. My PA’s had a lovely evening to theirselves whilst I went out with my friend for dinner. Excitement of my day was that someone fainted in the restaurant, paramedics are amazing!

Tomorrow we get up at 5am which my PA’s are so excited about, in order to catch th 7:18 Eurostar to Marseille.

See you tomorrow!

What a few months!!!! Time for a holiday?

It seems that the last post on here which was upon my return from Iceland is now a distant memory with all the exciting things that has happened over the past few months!

First off was the Education Show at the NEC (or as I was calling it by the last day, the cattle shed) back in March which we are still reaping the success of. I never in my life imagined that I would be looking at the exact same view for three days straight, luckily there was some eye candy on the stand next to us which kept me occupied (that sounds really pervy, definitely not the intention…promise!!). To try to prevent all of us going stir crazy we also kept a stash of Krispy Kreme under our stand – definitely needed them by the last day!

Just 2 weeks after the show, it was time return to Brum to talk to some year 8s, one word of advice, if your car looks like a van like mine and your travelling on the M6 Toll, be prepared to pay the van rate of £10, never doing that again!

Next up, after 4 years of VEUcans existence, the time felt right for it to step up and become a Limited company (VEUcan Ltd still sounds so posh!) which coincided with employing dedicated presenters (well translators and general helpers) for our talks and workshops. We also have some awesome ideas for the future including ingenious ideas to get VEUcans message across.

So your probably wondering where the hell am I going to find time to go on holiday, god knows!!!! I joke, I’m taking 2 weeks out in July to travel once more around Europe but this time by my favourite mode of transportation, TRAINS (Oh and a PLANE)!! Also, drastically deviating from the original plan, we are visiting the following places, each for a few days; Marseille, Geneva, Vienna, Budapest and Katowice (a place in Poland where we will stay to visit Auschwitz), flying back from Warsaw to Heathrow.

Of course I visited France and Switzerland back in 2013 so know that they have great accessibility but after that, we are stepping into the unknown, the place that I think will be interesting is Budapest, see how Eastern Europe accessibility holds up!

Before all of this though, guess where we have work to do…..Birmingham yet again!!!! We are visiting two schools on two consecutive days, swear that I should just do a road tour 🙂

Anyway, start following our antics on the evening of the 8th July on Twitter and on here, by now it’s obvious that something won’t go to plan no matter what we do!

Europe – July 2015