I would have never have thought of going to London…but wow what a weekend we had….

Donna at restaurant

Originally uploaded by connectculture

I was very happy to help Donna to have a weekend with hubby away from the kids. I planned an itinerary for her with lots of suggestions including some for wet weather but once she figured the buses out she did most herself.

This is what Donna wrote -

I would have never have thought of going to London. Being in a wheelchair, I didnt think it was accessible at all.

However, with Eleanor’s planning it became possible. WOW what a weekend we had.

My husband and I drove to the Hilton,Tower Bridge and thats when our adventure started.

The hotel was fantastic. The staff courteous. But the room ! The room was fantastic. It was large enough to turn my wheelchair around. it even had a spy hole in the door low enough for me to see through ! The wet room was large and accessible.

Eleanor planned us an itinerary so we knew where to go. It was brilliant.

Even where to park the car in safe storage for the weekend.

We went on the tour bus around the city. The Original Tour was excellent – always considering my wheelchair. There are 80 or so stops around the city covering every attraction you could wish to visit. Each stop has at least one employee of the bus company. They organised queues by holding all other passengers back so we were ALWAYS at the front, I felt like the Queen. At the stop by Madame Tussauds, they even phoned ahead to see when the next bus with a ramp was to arrive. To be honest all the buses seemed to have ramps. The audio commentary on the trip was also excellent.
Now Madame Tussauds, as soon as they saw me in a wheelchair, I was taken through an different door avoiding the queues. We were escourted from floor to floor by various members of staff – nothing was too much trouble. We were even able to experience the “live” horror exhibition….fantastic!

While on our bus trip we stopped off in Piccadilly to view the sights and have a meal. Though the restaurant had a step, the staff we eager to help. As we entered they moved tables and chairs for us to dine more easily. After the mean we went for a lovely stroll, to Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall to Westminster.

Chris, my husband, has aways wanted to hail a taxi. He got his chance on Victoria Embankment, just below Big Ben. The driver was most hepful, assembling the on board ramp from his boot. Apparently all the cabs have ramps for wheelchaisr users. Back at the hotel,the driver even demonstrated the “cockney” way for removing a blocking parked car from the hotel entrance! So we could get out of the taxi safely.

The Original Bus company ticket is valid for 24 hours and included a river cruise. We boarded our cruise at Westminster, opposite the London eye. Again we were ushererd to the front of the queue and onto the boat. We were taken then to the front of the lower deck, on the inside, where we would get the best view.
We then had a gentle cruise from Westminster, via the pier at Tower of London to Greenwich, and back to the Tower where we disembarked.

This trip was only possible with the support of Eleanor giving me the confidence to do such a thing………where next I wonder.