My hotel room is perfect for my needs. Very good bathroom complete with bidet. Luggage has been plac

The logistics of moving discount airline reservations myself and my luggage through Italy, into Switzerland and back to Rome for the flight discount airline reservations home was the challenge. I could not lift luggage, carry weight, stand in one spot for long, walk fast, stand up on jerky transport, needed discount airline reservations to sit with a straight back without knees higher than hips, not sit for too long, or walk for too long, could only descend stairs right foot first then left foot down to right foot on each stair tread, not bend over often or for long. At any stage without warning my back could lock and I would not be able to move.
I ve always been a psychologically slower traveller . I like to take the time to absorb the culture, architecture, history, landscape etc. I was a very active person (20k hikes and up and down gorges etc). My activities caused my problems. Born with hypermobile joints which have worn out. So now I am physically slower and limited so have even more time to enjoy the moment. Glass half full!
I decided that bus/guided tours were not for me both physically discount airline reservations and psychologically. These had never been my style of travel and now not something. I would enjoy or manage. I concluded that by the time I got safely to a place of interest from a bus on a guided discount airline reservations tour, everyone else would be heading back to the bus! I also would have been a nuisance to everyone else - holding up the show. There was also a danger that I could find myself having to abandon the tour and waste my money.
Air travel booked flights from Australia to arrive in Rome early afternoon via Dubai. Hotel room should be ready by then so could have access immediately. Booked aisle seats so could get out of my seat easily and walk around.
All hotel accommodations prebooked discount airline reservations with options to cancel discount airline reservations without penalty with reasonable notice if necessary. All with a spacious room, elevators, no low furniture, a good bed, a safe, a good full breakfast, a shower which could be stepped into easily, a location close to public transport. Not a risky location I would appear vulnerable.
Train tickets with seat reservations which I pre-booked first class on line through Trenitalia. No queuing for tickets (time wasting and painful), discount airline reservations more comfortable seating and space for luggage between seats. Also there would be no-one to mind my luggage while I was buying tickets. I was lucky enough to score many mini-fares.
A means of managing laundry at minimum expense and no hiking back and forth to laundromats. This involved flexible coated wire hangers and balloons (don t laugh!, hotel staff probably did). This would be difficult for a family or even a couple . Travelling on your own does reduce discount airline reservations the laundry load.
Brief sightseeing notes for each location etc on my eReader (no problem reading mine in sunlight). What s there to see, where is it, what were my priorities etc. No heavy guide books to carry. No iPad to lug about or worry about.
Instead of my walking stick I took my walking stick/seat. A walking stick which folds out to a narrow canvas seat which enabled me to sit very comfortably anywhere I needed/chose to. I could have sold this for a million euros many times over such was the interest in it. I actually started guarding it with my life in case someone ran away with it!
My remaining major concern was how was I going to get on and off those trains with stairs with my luggage? discount airline reservations I had learned that there was a service in Italy for forwarding luggage discount airline reservations and also for assistance on and off trains. In Switzerland there was a service which forwarded luggage discount airline reservations between rail stations. But I had been unable to organize anything with these services prior to leaving discount airline reservations Australia. This was my Leap of Faith go regardless!!!
My friend holds my luggage whilst I establish whether I am able to take my walking/stick seat and TENS machine (back recovery device) into the cabin. I was very reluctant to be parted discount airline reservations from my walking/stick seat and TENs. Permission was granted.
The airport staff decided that I required assistance with boarding etc. The staff member said he was not sure where the plane would be landing in Dubai he was right about that. It meant that I was taken to a special area and assisted to board. One of my fellow passengers was severely disabled and wheelchair bound. His condition humbled me. Isn t it wonderful that assistance is available for such people to travel?
The flight was comfortable enough. Good company. discount airline reservations A man from Australia who years ago was living in England and had met his English wife when both of them on holiday in Spain. They married later. Perhaps I should go to Spain?
We landed in Dubai away from the terminal. Passengers were required to walk down the stairs to leave the plane. Not me though. I travelled from plane to ground discount airline reservations via a mobile lift. Then I was transported in disabled bus, golf carts and wheelchairs for a long time. The staff was wonderful. I had been through Dubai airport in 2007. It was large then but even larger now. Once again I was assisted to board.
I had interesting company on flight Dubai to Rome. I sat between a young Italian lady returning to Sicily from Japan where she had been employed in wine marketing and a young man secreting bottle after bottle of Emirates wine in a bag. Emirates staff looked puzzled about the volume of wine he was consuming .
We land in Rome. Once again I am assisted off the plane. My wonderful Italian assistant collects my luggage and finds my driver. I was wheeled out a special side exit. No queue, no waiting, nothing. What still puzzles me is that I entered Italy with no one asking for or looking at my passport or luggage. My assistant and my driver take me and luggage to the car which was quite a distance away.
Many hotels advertise their rooms as having either a bathtub or shower. discount airline reservations How did you know that yours would have a shower? And how did you keep from slipping in Italian hotel showers, many of which have slippery tile floors?
My dad took the security bar with him when he traveled, but not every shower surface would accommodate the suction cups. You need to avoid grout lines, so time dimensions have to be just right. Don't forget to take it with you when you leave!
It functions as a walking stick (the length suits my height), is light to carry, kind on the hands, leans on things discount airline reservations (eg your leg) without falling discount airline reservations which frees both hands to get your money, ticket out etc. Mine is a medium. The handles also allow you to push yourself to a standing position.
Deplaning: Thanks for that word. I was rather stuck on what to call it. Disembarking and deboarding didn't sound right. The arrangements were made at my departure airport in Australia where I was assisted to board. So when we landed at Dubai, Rome etc those of us with arranged assistance waited for all others to leave the plane. We were on the books so we were expected, fetched and into a wheelchair.
Linking up with driver: The Rome airport assistant took me to the area where drivers were waiting with their signs with passenger names. From memory I showed my assistant the booking I had, he showed it to someone with more English and the message got through.
Showers in hotel rooms: discount airline reservations I checked out hotels and photos of their rooms, discount airline reservations bathroom access, furniture etc on-line. I read some reports from previous travellers. I chose good three star hotels, not chain hotels. When making enquiries for booking I made it clear that I had some mobility discount airline reservations issues and that I needed a shower I could step into easily with room to move. My hotels turned out to be much better than I expected - in fact I could not have asked for more. If I had come across danger of slipping I would have put a towel FLAT on the floor. I always had plenty of towels to spare because I was alone in double rooms.
The Balloons:!! I have a feeling I read this tip somewhere on Fodor's.Some people use inflatable hangers with some success. The motivation is to separate the layers of the clothing to speed up drying. Also supports the weight of wet clothes. So I took balloons and balloon tags (my hands don't allow me to tie up balloons). Hang clothes on wire hangers, hang in bathroom (twist the top of the hanger if necessary), shove a balloon up or down shirts and trousers etc. They dry faster. As long as you are not wetting carpet etc and leaving the bathroom discount airline reservations clean and safe no one seemed to mind. I would love to be able to tie balloons into balloon art so that I could provide more entertainment to hotel staff on my next trip!
My hotel room is perfect for my needs. Very good bathroom complete with bidet. Luggage has been placed up on waist high shelf. Good cupboard space with safe, television. Great bed. Desk and chair. Window to open and look out and down to street and Opera House.
discount airline reservations I go for a stroll to get the lay of the land. Restaurants within 20 metres. Discovered small internet caf around the corner, tabacchi to buy bus tickets discount airline reservations etc, coffee shop with snacks, fruit stall on the corner and grass and trees/shrubbery outside the Opera house. I m amused by the traffic, horn honking and the parking. Smart cars are definitely the way to go! I m looking forward to my 10 days in Rome.
I had tickets for Galleria Borghese for the day after tomorrow so tomorrow is trainspotting day and how to get around Rome. I had a good dinner in the company of two ladies from Ireland and England. I score ice from the hotel which I use to settle down the swelling in my new knee and have a perfect sleep.
My hotel has thoughtfully put me in a room on the same floor but far enough discount airline reservations from the breakfast discount airline reservations room. Breakfast is wonderful. Everything you could possibly wish for. In fact these breakfasts were so good that I did not wish to eat again until mid afternoon. I must tell you there is an advantage discount airline reservations to this. The crowds are always smaller when everyone else is eating lunch eg bus tours.
Time for trainspotting! I set off for Rome Termini rail station which is within walking distance. I study the platforms, the hawkers, the opportunists, the desperate, THE TRAINS, buy a Rome map, find an elevator to access shopping a