NOTE: I am not going to insert pictures where they should go because it will take too much time, but here is a link to the photo album!
We're back! 12 days in Spain with Joe and Uncle Tony, plus 2 days in London! We had a blast! Uncle Tony was the driver of the rental car, Joe was the navigator with his GPS, and I was the "translator" (though I got several compliments on my Spanish from native speakers, so I admit I'm pretty proud of myself!)
After navigating SeaTac, London Heathrow, and Bilbao airports with a wheelchair, 9 hours flying, 6 hours layover, and 2 more hours flying, we reached Bilbao. I don't mind telling you that it was not a fun experience for me. Why were airplane seats so much bigger when I was seven? I loved flying then! We thought about upgrading, but found out it was about $1300/ticket additional to upgrade to Business Class. Sheesh.
We stayed two nights at a hotel in Bilbao that was "wheelchair accessible" to the room, but I had to do stairs to get to the lobby to have breakfast in the morning. We did a lot of walking around Bilbao. I had left some of my prescriptions medications at home despite my carefully orchestrated packing list, but we were able to buy them without a prescription over there. Crisis averted!
Following Bilbao, we went to Suances, a small northern beach town. The hotel there was lovely...giant heavy rain shower head, jetted tub...and we didn't just get little shampoos and conditioners, either. We had a miniature sewing kit and a shoe polishing sponge, among other things. We couldn't navigate in the wheelchair because the hotel was on a steep hill so we didn't go out much.
On the way to our next destination, we took a little road trip through some tiny villages, but didn't try walking around because it would have been impossible with my chair. I was enchanted by the countryside, and have decided that if we ever build our own house, I would very much like a low stone fence. We went to Fuente De, which isn't really a "town" so much as an area near Potes consisting of two hotels and a gondola. It's in the mountains and has very pleasant weather. Very Washington-like. You can see snow on some far-away mountains, too! We stayed there for two nights and did a little shopping in Potes.
Next we went to Santander. Joe and I washed our clothes by hand and hung them up all over our hotel room. Unfortunately they weren't dry by the time we had to leave, so we had to pack them up wet and take them to our next location. Thankfully our next location was very dry and the bathroom had a warming towel rack, so the clothes dried quickly!
Next we went to Noja, a small beach town. It was much easier to wheel around here so we took a lot of walks. The hotel was very luxurious and they had a spa which consisted of various pools with fountains, jets, and different temperatures. Joe braved the freezing shower at (I believe) 40 degrees F. Uncle Tony and Joe also indulged my desire to lay on the beach. I have no tan though, sadly. Beaches in Spain are "swimsuit optional." Most people wore their swimwear, though we saw a couple of topless women - and quite a few adorable naked babies!
We spent our last night in Spain in Bilbao in order to be close to the airport. Then we left Uncle Tony to spend a couple days in Spain while Joe and I went to London for two nights. It was a relief to be back in an English speaking country because I didn't have to think so much! We didn't do much though, because we didn't want to brave public transportation with a wheelchair, especially not knowing a native who could help us navigate! We did take a lot of walks though.
The trip back was yesterday. I admit, Joe and I were both pretty grumpy and the trip pretty much sucked. Heathrow airport was very warm, but we still needed to grab a few things there, and I had to wheel myself around because Joe's hands were full with our carryons. SeaTac has now made things twice as complicated, where you pick up your checked baggage and take it to another moving belt, then get on the underground train to another location, go through a few more checkpoints and pick up your luggage AGAIN at another carousel. And of course, I'm on my own in the chair when Joe's got all these bags to carry around. We did have help in the airport for the areas in which we requested it.
Everywhere we went, we ate a lot of food, played a lot of cribbage, and took a lot of walks! By the end of the trip we had to put more air in my wheelchair tires!
If anyone wants to know how to traverse a foreign country in a wheelchair, I'll tell you: It is doable, but it's hard. Even if you speak the language (like when we were in London), you never know which public places will be wheelchair accessible. Cobblestone sidewalks are uneven and can unexpectedly halt the chair if you don't watch where you're going. Sometimes there are no ramps or elevators. To reach a place and then to realize you can't go in is frustrating. As if you need another reminder that you're in a chair! It can be really stressful. Even if you take 1-2 naps per day like I did Thankfully I had really sweet and understanding support in my Uncle Tony and my husband.
Thank you so much to Kathy for watching our cats AND for vacuuming our house, and doing a load of laundry, and I'm *pretty* sure either she or Angela changed our sheets. Thank you Angela also for watching the cats and for putting in our AC unit so the house wouldn't be baking when we got home!
I'm ready to take a nap just reliving the trip through this post (or could that be jet lag? Nahhh...) We are actually really happy to be home and resting. I am still in pajamas (that might have to do with the fact I have no clean clothes yet, but I'm working on it!)
We're back! 12 days in Spain with Joe and Uncle Tony, plus 2 days in London! We had a blast! Uncle Tony was the driver of the rental car, Joe was the navigator with his GPS, and I was the "translator" (though I got several compliments on my Spanish from native speakers, so I admit I'm pretty proud of myself!)
After navigating SeaTac, London Heathrow, and Bilbao airports with a wheelchair, 9 hours flying, 6 hours layover, and 2 more hours flying, we reached Bilbao. I don't mind telling you that it was not a fun experience for me. Why were airplane seats so much bigger when I was seven? I loved flying then! We thought about upgrading, but found out it was about $1300/ticket additional to upgrade to Business Class. Sheesh.
We stayed two nights at a hotel in Bilbao that was "wheelchair accessible" to the room, but I had to do stairs to get to the lobby to have breakfast in the morning. We did a lot of walking around Bilbao. I had left some of my prescriptions medications at home despite my carefully orchestrated packing list, but we were able to buy them without a prescription over there. Crisis averted!
Following Bilbao, we went to Suances, a small northern beach town. The hotel there was lovely...giant heavy rain shower head, jetted tub...and we didn't just get little shampoos and conditioners, either. We had a miniature sewing kit and a shoe polishing sponge, among other things. We couldn't navigate in the wheelchair because the hotel was on a steep hill so we didn't go out much.
On the way to our next destination, we took a little road trip through some tiny villages, but didn't try walking around because it would have been impossible with my chair. I was enchanted by the countryside, and have decided that if we ever build our own house, I would very much like a low stone fence. We went to Fuente De, which isn't really a "town" so much as an area near Potes consisting of two hotels and a gondola. It's in the mountains and has very pleasant weather. Very Washington-like. You can see snow on some far-away mountains, too! We stayed there for two nights and did a little shopping in Potes.
Next we went to Santander. Joe and I washed our clothes by hand and hung them up all over our hotel room. Unfortunately they weren't dry by the time we had to leave, so we had to pack them up wet and take them to our next location. Thankfully our next location was very dry and the bathroom had a warming towel rack, so the clothes dried quickly!
Next we went to Noja, a small beach town. It was much easier to wheel around here so we took a lot of walks. The hotel was very luxurious and they had a spa which consisted of various pools with fountains, jets, and different temperatures. Joe braved the freezing shower at (I believe) 40 degrees F. Uncle Tony and Joe also indulged my desire to lay on the beach. I have no tan though, sadly. Beaches in Spain are "swimsuit optional." Most people wore their swimwear, though we saw a couple of topless women - and quite a few adorable naked babies!
We spent our last night in Spain in Bilbao in order to be close to the airport. Then we left Uncle Tony to spend a couple days in Spain while Joe and I went to London for two nights. It was a relief to be back in an English speaking country because I didn't have to think so much! We didn't do much though, because we didn't want to brave public transportation with a wheelchair, especially not knowing a native who could help us navigate! We did take a lot of walks though.
The trip back was yesterday. I admit, Joe and I were both pretty grumpy and the trip pretty much sucked. Heathrow airport was very warm, but we still needed to grab a few things there, and I had to wheel myself around because Joe's hands were full with our carryons. SeaTac has now made things twice as complicated, where you pick up your checked baggage and take it to another moving belt, then get on the underground train to another location, go through a few more checkpoints and pick up your luggage AGAIN at another carousel. And of course, I'm on my own in the chair when Joe's got all these bags to carry around. We did have help in the airport for the areas in which we requested it.
Everywhere we went, we ate a lot of food, played a lot of cribbage, and took a lot of walks! By the end of the trip we had to put more air in my wheelchair tires!
If anyone wants to know how to traverse a foreign country in a wheelchair, I'll tell you: It is doable, but it's hard. Even if you speak the language (like when we were in London), you never know which public places will be wheelchair accessible. Cobblestone sidewalks are uneven and can unexpectedly halt the chair if you don't watch where you're going. Sometimes there are no ramps or elevators. To reach a place and then to realize you can't go in is frustrating. As if you need another reminder that you're in a chair! It can be really stressful. Even if you take 1-2 naps per day like I did Thankfully I had really sweet and understanding support in my Uncle Tony and my husband.
Thank you so much to Kathy for watching our cats AND for vacuuming our house, and doing a load of laundry, and I'm *pretty* sure either she or Angela changed our sheets. Thank you Angela also for watching the cats and for putting in our AC unit so the house wouldn't be baking when we got home!
I'm ready to take a nap just reliving the trip through this post (or could that be jet lag? Nahhh...) We are actually really happy to be home and resting. I am still in pajamas (that might have to do with the fact I have no clean clothes yet, but I'm working on it!)
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