By Steve Rhodes
And so it goes . . .
Information for this article was gathered on a research trip sponsored in part by European Waterways Ltd., American Airlines, Rail Europe, Hotel Sofitel Dijon La Cloche and Hotel Le Bristol Paris.
And from the article’s “If You Go” advice box:
“BARGE CRUISES: European Waterways Ltd. runs barge cruises in France and other parts of Europe.
“GETTING THERE: American Airlines calls passengers requesting wheelchair assistance in advance to find out what help they’ll need. There was no problem stowing my wheelchair in a cabin closet . . . If you book your train ticket through Rail Europe (raileurope.com), you can’t reserve a seat in the accessible train car. E-mail your seat information to accesplus@sncf.com to request help getting on and off the train.
“STAYING THERE: In Dijon, the historic Hotel Sofitel Dijon La Cloche (hotel-lacloche.com) has an accessible entrance through the garden but no sign in front to let you know. Our so-called accessible room, No. 301, was so small we could barely get my chair through the door. We moved to a bigger room that had a shower stall, although not a roll-in one.
“In Paris, our best room by far was No. 264 in the new wing at the Hotel Le Bristol (lebristolparis.com), which had plenty of space to maneuver and a roll-in shower (with an optional separate seat).”
Sure, not every “sponsor” got the kindest words possible, but they did get what they paid for.
Gubernatorial Debate
I’m told Scott Lee Cohen was “captivating.” Really.
Best State Ever?
North Dakota has an $800 million surplus.
Goodbye, Probie
“[M]ake no mistake about this fact: It’s quintessentially bad-ass to have your coffin transported via motorcycle sidecar to your funeral, which is exactly what was done for the late Bob Probert,” Deadspin reports.
Is Anything Working?
“[T]he unemployment rate among young people in a census region that includes North Lawndale is so chronic and pervasive that it ranked the worst in the nation in 2008, the latest year for which the data are available,” Jeff Kelly Lowenstein reports for The Chicago Reporter. “A region on the South Side similarly recorded a high unemployment rate – among the nation’s worst 1 percent. To remedy, the city has steered millions of public dollars to job placement programs, much of which has been aimed at these neighborhoods, but has little in the way of results to show for it.”
What They Say vs. Who They Are
This video should be part of every journalism school’s curriculum.
The Book Bike Lives!
City finally comes to its senses.
Cheap Trick!
At Ravinia, plus old ChicagoFest footage and where they’ll be tonight.
The Hollywood Cubs
At Shawshank – and in Hitler’s bunker.
LeBronology
“This goes back to my least favorite thing about our idiot national press these days: the way they see-saw idiotically between pretending they are the last bastions of editorial truth and justice in the world, and that they are powerless but to serve the ravening hordes who just want this trivial bullshit,” Athenae writes at First-Draft. “You can’t have it both ways, assholes. Pick one and go with it.”
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Powerful.
Posted on July 13, 2010