Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil - Restaurant (Villa d'Aldeia)

The Villa d'Aldeia is an upmarket churrascaria by Colinas shopping centre in Sao Jose dos Campos, about 90km North East of Sao Paulo. It is a food lovers paradise, and offers rodizio service complete with a little dial on the table with a green side and a red side.

There is valet parking. A ramp leads from street level to the doors. Access from there is completely level. There are accessible toilets. The restaruant is large with plenty of space to move between the tables. The salad is a buffet. The staff will help you get your salad plate if required. My only advice is to avoid filling up on salad (hard to do as the selections and quiality is superb) to save room for the vast selection of meats that will be offered to you during the meal.

Strongly recommended.

Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil - Hotel (IBIS Colinas)

IBIS Colinas  - Av. Dr. Jorge Zarur, 81, torre I, Jd. Apolo, São José dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil 

There are steps up to the front door, with a steep ramp. It is easier to go to the entrance of the adjacent Mercure hotel and wheel the 20m or so back to the door of the IBIS. 

There is level access throughout the lobby and breakfast area of the IBIS with large handicapped toilet off the lobby. 

Handicapped room is on the first floor (the lift/elevator is of adequate size). Like all IBIS hotels, the room is compact with little space for maneuver but it is fine. There is enough room (~1m/3.3ft) between bed and wall and bed and built in furniture. Workdesk is at a comfortable height. Sockets are at chest height (sitting) but slightly difficult to reach. Closet has a bar at a comfortable height for hanging shirts etc. Light switches are by the bed and easy to reach. 

The bed (queen size) is at a perfect height for transfers and is comfortable. 

Air conditioning unit is operated by a remote control, but it is stored in a hanger that may be too high on the wall for some wheelies to reach. Once removed from the clip, of course, they can be used with ease. TV remote control stored by TV at comfortable height. 

Bathroom is large with plenty of turn space. Ample knee room under sink. Slanted mirrors make for easy viewing when seated. Toilet is on a raised plinth and easily accessible for a 90° transfer. Grab rails well positioned. 

The shower is a three-walled cubicle with a fold up, sturdy, shower seat mounted on the right hand wall as you face into the cubicle for a 90° transfer. Shower controls are easy to reach. The shower rose is mounted directly on the ceiling and cannot be adjusted for direction. The grab rails are placed in completely the wrong location, also on the right hand wall. This  means that when you are sitting on the seat, the grab rail presses into your back making it very difficult to balance and move. When sitting on the seat it is difficult to position your body to capture the main flow of water from the shower. Unless you have a companion to assist, showering is a difficult affair. I found I had to sit at an angle on the seat and hang on to the grab rail with one hand at all times. Transferring to and from the chair is easy enough. 

Buffet breakfast is fine, and the staff are very friendly and will help with carrying trays etc. There is no lunch or dinner service (although there is an accessible restaurant in the next door Mercure) but there is a bar and snacks and limited range of sandwiches are served all day. The nearby Colinas shopping centre has shopping, food and an excellent chascurria, all with good wheelchair access. It is possible to walk to the shopping centre although you have to cross a few busy roads to get there (pedestrian crossings are plentiful). 

Despite the difficulty of showering this IBIS is more comfortable from a wheelchair access point of view than the alternative IBIS in SJC. If you are ambulant disabled then it is fine. 

The IBIS hotels are the only hotels I know of in SJC with handicapped rooms available.  If anyone knows otherwise please leave a comment to let me know!

Dublin, Ireland - restaurant (L'Ecrivain)

L'Ecrivain is one of the top Dublin restaurants. Unfortunately, if you are in a wheelchair you will not get to enjoy it. Although the front entrance is ramped, the main dining room is up a flight of stairs. The staff have offered to carry me up but this is the 21st century and I'm really kind of past that level of risk and embarrassment. with so many other dining options available.

Dublin, Ireland - Restaurant (Mint)

Update (June 3 2009):
This restaurant is now gone out of business. Not surprising given it's high costs and the economic downturn. A pity though!

Mint is widely recognized as one of the finest restaurants in Dublin in 2008 and earned a Michelin star in that year.

It is located in Ranelagh, Dublin, in a simple small room. Access from the street is level, with a gentle internal ramp to the dining room. The small dining room has tables closely positioned with a wide walk way in the middle so negotiating to your table is not difficult. There is a fully accessible, large unisex toilet. However, getting to the toilet may involve negotiating an obstacle course of chairs and miscellaneous item of furniture placed in the corridor. The helpful staff will move anything that needs moving however.

Normally I confine my notes to the wheelchair accessibility of a restaurant - I am not a food critic after all. However, I feel compelled to add that the meal we had there was exceptional. An epic culinary masterpiece that I can still taste. The prices are astronomical (but you can visit their website and view the menu so you don't get too much of a shock) but this is theater, art and first class food all in one. We had the tasting menu with wine and were blown away by each course. Prior to this the best meal I had ever eaten was in Petrus in Hong Kong in 2001 (see here for my access notes from that trip) but Mint has surpassed it.

Accessible and fabulous - highly recommended.

Dublin, Ireland - Pub (The Temple Bar)

The Temple Bar Pub  is located, not surprisingly, in Temple Bar in Dublin city centre.

The Temple Bar area  is difficult to get around in a wheelchair. The streets are old and mostly cobbled, and the sidewalks are broken and have many lob-sided and ill fitting slabs. Although this is all part of the charm, it means that us wheelchair users have to travel slowly and take great care. 

The Temple Bar Pub is centrally located and is a good venue for fine Guinness and live music. It is immensely popular with both locals and tourists so is usually crowded. There are three doors from the street and each one is accessible. Getting around inside the pub is fine if there are not too many people but on a Friday night it is near impossible. If you have not experienced an Irish pub in full swing then you should consider visiting at off-peak times. 

There is a large handicapped accessible toilet but it is not well marked and is separate from the other toilets (which are downstairs). In addition, the handicapped toilet is sometimes locked to prevent abuse. So the best bet is to ask a staff member to point it our to you. 

Recommended. 

Dublin, Ireland - Pub (Leeson Lounge)

Located next door to O'Briens, this bar has a fairly unusual interior, probably dating from the 1970s. Roomier and slightly more plush than its more traditional neighbour, it is a little more comfortable for the wheelchair user. There is a small step from the door on Upper Leeson Street. There are no accessible toilets. The Gents toilet is "accidentally accessible". The door is wide enough for a chair to get through. There is a sharp right turn just inside the door into a narrow room with access to the urinal and sink for handwashing. The cubicle is not accessible. 

This is a popular local bar and very busy for sports events.

Dublin, Ireland - Pub (O'Briens of Leeson Street)

Located at the corner of Upper Leeson Street and Sussex Terrace, this is an old world Irish bar that has not changed in decades. Thankfully, the owners resisted any temptation to "upgrade" during the booming first years of the 21st century and it retains all the original charm and idiosyncrasies of a genuine Irish bar. Unfortunately, this means no wheelchair accessible toilets. There is a small (50cm/2") step at one double door. The other doors are not accessible. Turn right after going through this door and you will enter the bar. Roomy, but the tables are high. Turn left and you enter the lounge. Tighter and difficult to get around, but the tables are lower. Both sides serve one of the best pints of Guinness in Dublin and it is worth a visit although you will need to restrict yourself to one or two pints because there is no accessible toilet. And long may it remain so.