Tag: wheelchair

10 things NOT TO DO in Barcelona

1) Only drink Sangria

2) Miss on the Tapas at “Vinitus”

3) Wait for an accessible taxi without booking 24 hours in advance through the specific company number (actually, we should say: book an accessible taxi, because we did it 2 days in advance and it still did not show up! If it was not for our superhuman strength and all the calories/fats eaten at the buffet breakfast, we would have not been able to lift Charles’ muscly ass into a regular taxi and then missed the train to Madrid)

4) Wait for an accessible taxi without booking 24 hours in advance through the specific company number (actually, we should say: book an accessible taxi, because we did it 2 days in advance and it still did not show up! If it was not for our superhuman strength and all the calories/fats eaten at the buffet breakfast, we would have not been able to lift Charles’ fat ass into a regular taxi and then missed the train to Madrid)

5) Go to the Sagrada Familia without booking your ticket online and expect to visit the tower if you are on a wheelchair or have limited mobility

6) Expect everyone to speak English at the information centre

7) Expect to catch the metro from anywhere, because not all the stations have a lift. When you do find a lift, take a deep breath and hold it till you get out unless you like the smell of urine

8) Go to the Casino and expect to win (they want your money!)

9) Walk to the Cable Car to have a great view of Barcelona without checking the weather forecast

We were going to write 10 points but actually we could come up with only 9 because Barcelona is such a great and accessible place, however repeat point 3 or 4 for 500 times because this was such a biiiig thing!

And now,  let’s see what you have in stored for us Madrid!!!!!!!

 

madrid

 

10 Things we have learned during our 3 days in Valencia

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1)  Sangria is great

2) Valencia is one of the most wheelchair accessible city I have seen with great footpaths all flat, elevators everywhere, pretty much all accessible cafes and restaurant, Museums, buses, accessible taxi. However, the train station needs more accessible services (there is not even an office where people with disability can go and ask information, and from our experience today they did not have proper ramp that fit in the intercity train) BIG ADVICE: if you need to catch a train in Valencia, arrange in advance and request days before the departure “special assistance”  because yes YOU ARE SPECIAL!!

4) Sangria is great

5) When travelling with a wheelchair and searching for accommodation you need to make sure not only about:

the size of the room, the shower which has to be wide and totally flat with a wide entrance with a large door screen or curtain. Also double check  that the rooms have aircon, handheld showerhead, a fridge if you need special medications to be kept refrigerated, the absence of carpet on the floor, but also if there is enough space under the bed if you need to use a hoist (these things are just lessons  we have learned in a short period time!) Finally, do not hesitate to ask also the height of the toilet seat! Send an email to the Hotels (prepare the same one and just copy and paste) and ask them to send photos, videos and all the information you need. This step is very important and you do not want surprises when you have checked-in already!

Many accessible rooms have a high toilet seat to facilitate people with limited movement functions, but if you have a permanent disability like a spinal cord injury and you need to access the toilet seat with a shower chair then the seats has to be low, so yes always ask also about this technical detail and make sure there are no obstacles between the toilet seat and the wall!  All  the modern accessible rooms nowadays should be built following a standard however, the “world of the disabilities” is soooooo huge and different that the needs are personal . Therefore, it is important to speak up, in order to minimize all the issues that travelling with a disability can  present and also make sure that if we had a bad experience we can make  a claim and hopefully help other people in a similar situation to have a better experience (Jessie are you ready for the next letter?)

6) Repeat number 3

7) There is no number 3

8) You have just checked if number 3 was there

9) You are laughing thinking I am a clown, which I am

10) Memorize these light and diplomatic expressions that might be very handy if somebody is not willing to help and is a nonsense: (please choose also your anger level)

ANGRY: “Eres tonto o peinas calvos?” (Are you stupid or you comb people with bold hair?)

VERY ANGRY: “Eres tan feo que desde que te naciste ya no se volvieron a hacer experimentos con las ratas” (You are so ugly that since you were born they stopped doing experiments on the mice)

VERY VERY ANGRY:“Vete a chuparla” no need to know the translation and better not searching on Google  the real meaning because you might end up in an adult website!

BARCELONA HERE WE COME!