Welcome to the primary weblog publish in a brand new sequence referred to as Journey Experiences, filed below the Reader Mailbag.
Every now and then, I dip into the mailbag to reply questions on accessible journey from readers identical to you. Sometimes, readers prefer to share a narrative and pictures from their very own accessible journey — these tales will now be a part of the Journey Experiences sequence. When you have a query you’d like answered or wish to share particulars from a latest journey, ship an e-mail to [email protected].
The next journey report was submitted by Mary and Terry Haas from Florida. They wrote:
We took a Uniworld river cruise on the Joie de Vivre ship from Paris to Normandy. Whereas the corporate discourages wheelchair customers attributable to restricted accessibility, they have been truly very accommodating. The mixture of strolling and utilizing a wheelchair on shore excursions labored out. Particularly –
They have been adamant my spouse needed to stroll on/off the ship however took the folding wheel chair and saved it within the foyer the place it was accessible for shore excursions. She needed to stroll in every single place on the ship however we particularly selected this boat because it had an elevator to a few of the 4 decks in addition to a chair raise to the solar deck on the highest of the ship.
First tour was Château de La Roche-Guyon – on this and all excursions the bus drivers put the wheelchair within the baggage space. On the website it was a protracted stroll via gardens so we used the chair. The paths have been strong filth and I might push the chair. On the chateau there have been quite a few steps to get in and inside so she determined to stay exterior however did stroll to an attention-grabbing floor degree exhibit.
Monet’s Giverny was subsequent – once more a protracted stroll via the gardens utilizing the wheelchair and whereas a bit slender at occasions the wheelchair labored on the filth paths. She didn’t attempt to go in the home.
Rouen was subsequent – all day strolling tour of town – a lot too lengthy for her to stroll so we once more used the chair. Some on metropolis sidewalks, contained in the cathedral, and so on. however most on tough cobblestones so I reverted to stepping into reverse because the entrance wheels have been a continuing drawback however we did see all the pieces.
In Normandy I pushed her within the wheelchair for the whole time. Stable filth paths so we went in every single place besides the farthest level on Omaha Seashore, however didn’t really feel we missed something. General, far an excessive amount of for her to stroll. She didn’t go on the seashores because it was too sandy.
In Versailles, we used the wheelchair over some tough cobblestones within the strategy to the palace by backing up many of the method. As we had been inside earlier than realized it could be very troublesome with the crowds and small house and actually needed to see the gardens – discovered they’ve a golf cart choice (small price) and we went to the pinnacle of the road and completely loved the day within the gardens and the cart.
On our final day in Paris we had a tour of the Opera Garnier – once more used the wheelchair and the tour director was very accommodating discovering the restricted elevators for us to keep away from the quite a few stairs. All Paris taxi cabs in addition to the Purple on/off buses dealt with the wheelchair with no issues.
Mary and Terry Haas
Considering taking a wheelchair accessible journey to Paris? Begin with the Paris, France Accessible Journey Information, a free useful resource stuffed with info on the wheelchair accessibility of Paris sights, resorts, public transportation, taxis and extra!
