Wheelchair Accessible European Vacation

Rome - the city of visible history, where the past of a whole hemisphere seems moving in funeral procession with strange ancestral images and trophies gathered from afar. ~George Eliot

Let me start by saying: British Airways? Excellent. Friendly and helpful staff, comfortable seats and luxuries like free booze and new movies- and a thoughtful approach to helping disabled travellers. We brought Emily's electric chair, a permobil C300, and her lightweight manual chair- and both arrived safely. This was a nice surprise, as domestic flights with Delta and American as well as a trip to Australia with Pacific Air in the past have been... gambles gone wrong. With BA, thorough communication and care was taken by all the staff on our journey from San Francisco International to a connection in London Heathrow to Rome, Italy.

Eight hours to rainy, chilled London, and just a two hour hop to Rome.
We were whisked through security and customs (sped past the line of Non-EU arrivals, where a cursory glance at our passports was all we needed, apparently) and into the warm balm of Rome. Our driver- who did not speak a lick of English- had been arranged by our travel agent, and despite the language barrier, was incredibly helpful in loading up our baggage, as a miscommunication meant no lift for Emily's heavy chair. Creative loading and some heft on the part of our Italian driver got us past that hiccup; smiles that need no interpretation concluded that brief interlude to our hotel.

The Hotel Massimo D'Azegio, another find by our agent, sits on the bustling Via Cavour, mere minutes from the Coliseum, is a fine place to stay, and quite accessible. Our room, though small by American standards perhaps, was comfortable and cool, at the end of a winding, narrow hallway. A roll-in shower about the size of a broom closet sat in the corner of a good sized bathroom, and complimenting the well-placed toilet and bidet, all with grab-bars.
The room- like the rest of the hotel, is modestly classy (let’s pretend that doesn’t contradict) with what can only be said in cliché: old world charm.

Having washed up and made our way back down to the lobby, Sergio, our concierge, directed us to find Antonio at the Trattoria Nuova Stella, just around the corner. It was a good recommendation: pleasant Greco di Tufo white wine, pizza di funghi and fettucini with a limoncello aperitif. By then, around 8 o’clock, the breeze had brought the air down to below 80 degrees Fahrenheit- no idea what that is in Celsius- and we wandered the cobbled streets, enjoying the smells of food and people, and the sounds of the city on a Friday night.
Needless to say, we slept well that night, our first in Rome.