How accessible is Florence for a full time wheelchair user?
On the basis that in 1339, Florence became the 1st City in the World to use paving, I would hope the answer is “Pretty good”. Read on to get my thoughts and observations.
Leaving Manchester
Again, we flew with Jet2. And, again they didn’t disappoint. They get my wholehearted recommendation. ‘Nuff said.
A series of ‘firsts’, or breaking my flight ‘virginity’
This is not about me joining the Mile High Club. Come on, those toilets are way too tiny. Never mind the hygiene, (or lack of), issues. No. This is about me sharing useful flying and mobility/disability issues that might assist others. And then going on about Florence.
So, what were t
- flown with my Batec Mini. I’ve been on the train in the UK with it but never on an
airplane . What’s a Batec? Catch up people and read the link https://wheeliebigadventures.com/the-mist-is-clearing-and-im-getting-my-independence-back/; - used a leg bag for a flight; and,
- used all of my Phoenix Instinct Twinset luggage.
Toilet Trouble
Those who know me – especially my nearest and dearest – know of my notoriously weak bladder. For those that don’t know me, my MS has truly shagged my bladder https://wheeliebigadventures.com/so-what-exactly-is-the-fluid-content-of-a-healthy-adult-bladder/
When I’ve got to go, I really have to go. The pee is probably already halfway down my urethra when the alarm signals invade my MS scarred brain.
Hold the pee in? Are you kidding? There’s no chance of that. In the words of Eurythmics ‘Here comes the rain again’ it was “… Raining in my hand like a tragedy. Tearing me apart like a new emotion…”. It’s certainly emotional when the fucker does come out like a flood in places where you don’t want it to. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound.
Damp patches on trousers, ridiculous urgency & cringeworthy peeing stories. I’ve been through these situations so many times in search of a travel solution. Well, sod the personal embarrassment. If these stories and tips help anyone else going through similar, it’s time to bare my soul…
An unholy trinity
The combination of flying, my MS and the Special Assistance seats always being window seats, has made me realise I need a better solution than praying I won’t have to try and get to the toilet for a pee during a flight.
Because of my ‘urgency’, the
There’s also the likelihood of pissing off the other 2 people in our cosy row of three seats or possibly pissing over the other 2 people in our cosy row of three seats. Whatever happens, it’s not a great outcome. It’s a comedic one. But not a great one.
Let me introduce you to…the Leg Bag
Again, this is pretty much what it says on the tin – a bag that is attached to your leg. But this is no shopping bag. It collects your pee.
It’s all very Heath Robinson. But it works. You have to wear a urinary sheath that’s connected to your leg bag by a basic system of tube work, with the bag attached to your leg by 3 Velcro straps.
Dead simple really. You want a pee, you have a pee…all the while sitting in your window seat and without exposing yourself and making the pilot make an emergency landing. This way, you don’t earn a criminal record or get wet pants. Bish, bash, bosh. You are most welcome.
It’s probably great for a winter trip. As it fills up, it’s like a little hot water bottle for your leg.
The bag has a drainage tap at its bottom, (just above ankle height), with a spout to allow easy drawing of the bag into any bottle for subsequent easy disposal. I’ve only ever worn it under a pair of jeans, cargo pants etc. It’s not something you’d wear with shorts, but…
What’s a urinary sheath? Think very ‘old style’ condom and you’re there. I remembered an 80s TV advert of ‘Geronimo’ that sort of sums it up. I’ve attached it below for the nostalgic amongst us. Where would we be without YouTube? Thanks
A Cautionary Tale
Now this will sound obvious, but the leg bag’s not like Doctor Who’s Tardis. It only holds 500ml. Don’t do as I did in a Starbuck’s behind St. Paul’s on our recent London trip, (and my first ‘road test’ of the leg bag).
The Starbucks employee who came to mop up the spreading pool of light straw coloured liquid was VERY understanding. But we both knew the pool was anything but coffee. And then he offered me a free coffee refill to replace the drink I’d spilt…
I suppose you could argue contributory negligence on Starbuck’s part. After all, if they hadn’t sold me the massive coffee in the first place, I wouldn’t have had the problem etc., etc. Or am I being ridiculous now?
…and the Phoenix Instinct Twinset
This is a luggage system that a wheelchair user can pull himself. This is actually really clever and so revolutionary. It’s the end of loading up Lisa like a pack-horse for every trip we go on.
The Twinset is two luggage bags – a Hold-all and an
The Hold-all goes into the
Anyhow, Florence…
Why would anyone want to visit Florence?
Florence is a city in Central Italy and the Capital of the Tuscany region. It’s the City that gave birth to the Italian Renaissance movement. Consequently, it’s now a cultural gem being a living ‘museum’ for a multitude of artworks.
Florence is a low rise, magical City. In the historic centre, the Duomo still towers above the other buildings, the tallest of which are 4, sometimes 5
Florence is split in two by the Arno River – effectively North of the Arno and South of the Arno. North is where you’ll see the Statue of David, the Duomo and the Uffizi Gallery. South is home to the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens. Both North and South have loads more to see but these are the main sights.
Florence is well connected to the Italian rail network, with Santa Maria Novella station being the main rail hub in historic Florence. The City is also served by an impressive and modern looking tram system and loads of buses. But ‘tourist’ Florence is relatively small.
We didn’t use trams, buses or taxis to get around. Our ‘group’ walked and I was in my manual wheelchair, albeit I had it electric powered with the addition of my Batec Mini. None of us moaned about sore feet or achy legs. But we stopped to refresh regularly with beer, prosecco, gin and gelato on a frequent basis – it was a holiday after all.
Getting into Florence as a Wheelchair User
Florence has its own airport but for some reason, (probably cheaper landing fees), most flights arrive in Pisa – about 80km, (50 miles) from Florence. This is not an issue. Just factor it into your travel plans.
Pisa Airport
Pisa Airport’s PRM team, (the team for dealing with Passengers with Reduced Mobility –
Pisa airport’s PRM team give us the usual VIP treatment going through the airport that you get when you’re a PRM. You might be last off the airplane but they whizz you past all the queues and straight through Passport Control. Time lost at one end, is gained at the other.
The VIP treatment only fell apart at the final hurdle because the employee didn’t know his left hand from his right. As we found out, when you leave the Arrivals Hall, you don’t turn right looking for a ticket office selling tickets for the Pisamover. Yes, there is a ticket office if you turn right. But it doesn’t sell tickets for the Pisamover. Still, we only wasted 25 minutes of wasted queuing.
Instead, to get to the Pisamover, turn left out of the Arrivals Hall and follow the Yellow Brick Road…literally. The tile markers are yellow. And, of course, follow the clearly displayed, overhead signage.
The Pisamover
The Pisamover is ace. It’s Pisa Airport’s mass transit system for moving passengers from the airport to Pisa’s main railway station. It’s entirely step-free and costs 5€ pp for a one-way ticket. Trains are every 5 minutes between 06:00 and 24:00, 365 days a year. Perfect. I’ve even linked their website for you http://pisa-mover.com/en/services/tickets-and-fares/
Pisa Centrale and arriving into Firenze Santa Maria Novella station
Into Pisa’s main rail station, Pisa Centrale. And this is where it started to go a little awry. Only a little. But when you’re travelling with friends and you’ve arranged everything, a little can seem like a lot.
After travelling a fair bit with my wheelchair last year, I was getting a little too cocky. Well, e
Which Century are we in now?
We’re in the 21st century, right? Therefore, all of Trenitalia’s fleet will be wheelchair accessible, right? Wrong. Some are…but s
OK. Can a gullible, uneducated PRM tourist tell just by looking at a train, or a timetable, which train is accessible and which is not? No.
After too much messing around, moving from platform to platform, getting useless information from (Dis)Information Offices on the Concourse and dealing with surly and generally disinterested platform guards, we get a train Guard and Driver who are prepared to help.
It turns out that the ‘problem’ was all my own doing. I was a PRM who hadn’t arranged assistance in advance and through the proper channel.
Fuck me. All it should have needed was someone with a portable ramp or a key and the right amount of gumption to operate one of the ramps on the platform or inside the disabled carriage on the train – yes, these items of equipment were already there.
Anyway, the eventual solution arrived in the form of a breathless bloke in a high-vis jacket. He’d been summoned by the Guard, and had run from one side of the station to the other carrying a…portable ramp.
All of this added about 90 minutes of unnecessary frustration to our transfer. We really didn’t need this on a 3-night break. But IT WAS MY FAULT. There we go, my confession is written down.
What you SHOULD do when travelling as a PRM in Italy?
Do as I say, not as I did. Look out for signs for Sala Blu. These are Trenitalia’s team for dealing with assisting PRMs. And, ideally, call them at least 24 hours ahead to book the assistance you will need. Done this way, I am sure your journey will be as smooth as a cashmere codpiece. I’ve attached below the PRM section from Trenitalia’s website https://www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase/info_contacts/disabled_passengers.html
Alternatively, blag it as I did. But if you do, be prepared for lots of tutting, disapproving looks and having to miss a train, (or 2) until Sala blu have disturbed the right person and taken them off their break to help you board their train. All so they can do their job!
Anyhow, joking apart, use the services of Sala
The train journey itself is fine – 52 minutes or 1 hour and 15 minutes on a crawler – and you’re soon in the heart of Florence at Santa Maria Novella train station.
So what’s so special about Florence?
Florence was everything I wanted it to be since it was described to me when I was about 19. I would say it was better. But that’s a slight lie.
When I was 19, I’d have loved to have seen the view from Brunelleschi’s Duomo. Looking out over all of Florence, after climbing 463 stone steps. A hopelessly romantic thought. That’s me. Hopeless romantic.
But there’s no lift to the top of the Duomo. I’m not bitching. I think you already know my thoughts about NOT knocking seven shades of shit out of historic buildings. And the Italian’s have already added lifts to the Colosseum and Forum. Nevertheless, for me, it was a stark reminder of how time has affected me. And a reminder for one of my favourite phrases…Carpe Diem. https://wheeliebigadventures.com/daves-law-of-life-in-25-year-chunks/
Instead, as a wheelchair alternative, I started up the Batec and zipped around the outside of the Duomo with the GoPro, to get a TimeWarp of what, for me is one of the most gorgeous
Nine Interesting Facts about Florence
When researching this article, and our trip, I came across loads of these ‘facts’ and I couldn’t resist listing some.
- One-third of the World’s art treasures are located in Florence, (according to UNESCO). I don’t know how UNESCO even come up with these measures. But, yes. Florence is rammed to the gills with art. I appreciate that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, but I really don’t want to see any more religious art. And was it really so dark in the 15th and 16th Centuries? Could the Medici family not light more candles for those poor artists?
- Famous Florentines – Leonardo da Vinci, Pinocchio and…Florence Nightingale. And I thought David and Victoria were being a little cheesy.
- The Statue of David is 14 feet 3 inches high and his left hand is disproportionately large compared to the rest of his body. He was said to be of Manu Fortis, (of strong hand) – I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
- Gelato was invented in 1565 – thank you
God ! Maybe there was a justification for all of the religious art. - It was the first City in the World to have paved streets, (in 1339). Very forward-
thinking . - It was the capital of Italy between 1865 & 1871.
- The Florence Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, (the Duomo), took 140 years to complete.
- Florence has flooded twice – in 1333 & 1966. On both times, it flooded on 4 November. Spooky
- Even Hitler was in awe of Florence’s beauty. So much so that the bastard blew up every bridge there during WW2 except the Ponte Vecchio.
So what did we do with our limited time?
A little more detail is required rather than just saying culture, eating, culture, drinking, gelato and loads more culture. But in fairness, that pretty much summed up our Florence trip.
Day One
Too much of Day One was eaten away with travelling. I had thought about heading to Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s famous son. But in the end we only really had time for finding a good Trattoria and chilling.
Day Two
- a Walking Tour, (rolling in my case). A two hour, whistle-stop introduction to the main sites of Florence. Very enjoyable and very necessary;
- The Duomo, Giotto’s Campanile, and the Baptistery of St. John. All just seen from the outside. You can climb the 1st two if you can walk – no chance for me then.
Me & a carer get free access, but you need proof of your disability, (the sight of the wheelchair isn’t enough). I always bring my Blue Badge with me. Pretty much any time of year, these are the attractions with the horrendous queues. I’ve linked the official website as this gives information on charges, disabled access etc. https://operaduomo.firenze.it/en Time for Gelato 1. - Uffizi Palace and Gallery. The Gallery is completely accessible. There is separate disabled access and there are lifts to access all floors. The cost for whoever is disabled, and their carer, is free. Some people would/could/do spend days in the Uffizi’s halls. I love art, but I’ve pretty specific tastes and I can quite easily whizz through most galleries. Surprisingly, they let me keep the Batec attached, which I wasn’t expecting. Anyhow, I’ve attached below a link to the Uffizi website for you. https://www.uffizi.it/en
Day Three
- The Ponte Vecchio. This was nothing more than a roll across. OK, a linger across. But to get views down the Arno, you’re knackered if you can’t leave your chair – what would be the ‘viewing platforms’ are elevated above the footpath level. In fairness, it’s the views of the Ponte Vecchio from other bridges/other points around Florence that are worthwhile, rather than the view from the bridge itself.
- Palazzo Pitti. Famous as the house of the Medici family, (and 2 other dynasties after that). It’s basically a massive museum, (although this description doesn’t do justice to it). Again there’s separate disabled access; it was free
access for me and a carer; and, lifts and stairlifts that allowed me to move around, again with my Batec still attached. The website is linked through the Uffizi website above. - Boboli Gardens. The formal gardens attaching to the Palazzo Pitti. We really did only scratch the surface of these because they are massive and, in parts, built on a bloody steep hill. Even with my Batec, the hill was a definite NO. Again, the website is linked through the Uffizi website above. Time for Gelato 2.
- Galleria
del’Accademia . The house of the ‘big man’ himself. Separate disabled access; free for me and a carer and all parts accessible. I’d read a review that essentially said: “…three rooms filled with statues and religious art, but all overshadowed by the Statue of David…” I took this pretty literally and thought it was a great description. I know it makes me sound like a Philistine, but for me, it was ‘Statue of David, tick’. But it’s bloody impressive. A link to the website is attached below http://www.galleriaaccademiafirenze.beniculturali.it/
How rollable are those historic paved surfaces?
On the whole, they are really decent. Florence generally felt pretty level. There were some bits that were uneven and gave you a shaking. Nothing as bad as the Forum in Rome though. Look closely at the TimeWarp video and you’ll see the paving around the Duomo – this is a fairly representative example.
I had my Batec with me so I can’t really form an objective view. I saw quite a few people in manual wheelchairs. But they also tended to have some form of power add-on, be it Batec-like or SmartDrive. There was only one other I saw that that had no power add-on, and I didn’t see him long enough to form a conclusion, albeit he was pulling a lot of deliberate wheelies.
In Conclusion
We had just 3 nights and 2 full days in Florence. Was that enough? Absolutely no way. I don’t even think we anywhere near scratched the surface. We took away a flavour, maybe even just a scent, of a city I’d happily return to year after year after year.
But to answer my initial question – How accessible is Florence for a full-time wheelchair user? – the answer is pretty much accessible.
Wherever there might be access limitations – and I honestly didn’t see them – the overwhelming warmth and willingness to assist from the Florentines would, I’m sure, overcome these limitations.
Probably Lisa would give a better summation than me. Her view is that of all the City breaks we’ve taken so far, my use of the Batec, the Phoenix Instinct and the Leg bag, has made Florence the easiest, (and therefore the most enjoyable), for her. And the assistance of 2 good friends definitely helped.
Did we really only have 2 Gelatos? Pineapple and coconut two scoop for me.
Bye for now. David
