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--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Asalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah, Yes London is very accessible. I think all the stops on the tube are announced and I think there is an app you can download to track your trip. If someone one knows what I am talking about, please post I think you have to make arrangements for the clock museum but, the Victoria and the British museum you can just grab wand , not sure if they have the app running yet. If you call the RNIB they can tell you about the accessibility in London. But you carry the wand around with you and it will read out the exhibits. But, if you schedule in advance, to fit your schedule, I think you can take a guided tour. They also have braille materials at the gift shop at the British museum, it shows some of the exhibits as 3d graphics. In france, if you visit the louvre, they also have tactile materials you can obtain. The euro star is a great way to travel to Paris. It must be very popular as the hell’s Angels were using it when I traveled, I had to take a picture, no one would have ever believed me on that one. The famous Harrods department store, if you want to see it, you call in advance and they will give you a personal guide tour of the store. They have famous chocolate bar or café at the store, never had chocolate like this from any other place, not even Paris. If you can, travel to the lake district, I love the small villages and that is where you can see a real tea shop, you will not see them in London. If you can make it, try to go for tea at the saint James and you have to wear formal dress. Also, if you want to learn the British money, they have a guide you can get from the RNIB to feel the pound notes and one tool will help you if the coins. Also if you need a quick course for cane travel, it is different then the states, you can find someone to go over with you. How to use the turning knobs at the lights and how to cross the zebras, the closest thing is the cross walk here. The turning knobs at the light is to let you know when it is time to cross the street. Make sure you line up with the knob as some streets do not all stop and you will still have traffic coming at a angle. Some of the downtown streets have bumps to guide you especially around Oxford street and Great Portlen by the British museum and the university of London. The busses if you use them, do not always come to a complete stop for your stop, even when you tell them too, you have to be quick. I have taken the double decker buses for a long ride, that was a real experience, glad I cant see according to my friends it was a cringe worthy experience, me, it was alright. I was a big fan of the fish and chips. If you can try the iron brew, it is a soft drink made in Scotland but, I think I remember one could get in London. Also, they have real smartys, it is better than Eminem’s. That is much more, have fun. Salaam wa-nor sister Heather </p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sent from <a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986">Mail</a> for Windows</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='border:none;padding:0in'><b>From: </b><a href="mailto:nfb-muslims@nfbnet.org">ibrahim abedrabbo via NFB-Muslims</a><br><b>Sent: </b>Monday, August 1, 2022 10:27 AM<br><b>To: </b><a href="mailto:rothmanjd@gmail.com">Ronza Othman</a><br><b>Cc: </b><a href="mailto:abedrabboibrahim@gmail.com">ibrahim abedrabbo</a>; <a href="mailto:nfb-muslims@nfbnet.org">NFB Muslims Group list</a><br><b>Subject: </b>Re: [NFB-Muslims] Have any of you folks traveled alone to London Uk?</p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks Ronza,</p><p class=MsoNormal>This is really very helpful. I have been to London three times in the past, the last in 2003, but always with sighted friends. I never paid much attention to issues of accessibility in those visits. In any case, things must have changed a lot since my last visit, hopefully for the better.</p><p class=MsoNormal>I hope you will share your impressions with me after you return. I should be leaving August 25. I need to know if I must scedule my visits to tourist sites in advance to get assistance, or just walk in. I also like to know more about public transportation accessibility considering the great leaps in GPS technology and guidance systems.</p><p class=MsoNormal>Salam </p><p class=MsoNormal>Ibrahim</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sent from my iPad</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>> On Aug 1, 2022, at 9:24 AM, Ronza Othman <rothmanjd@gmail.com> wrote:</p><p class=MsoNormal>> </p><p class=MsoNormal>> Salam,</p><p class=MsoNormal>> I visited London in 2005 and am heading out there again next week. I found it very accessible as a blind person, and the attitude in London is very similar to those of Americans. One challenge is that it is a very old city, which means that it is not always easy to navigate areas that have things like cobblestones, or sign posts or light poles in the middle of sidewalks, trees and tree roots growing out of sidewalks, like an old Baltimore or Boston. But, if you are good with your cane, you should be fine. They actually were much better than the Americans were with regard to audio described tours and activities. For example, I took a tour of the London tower that had an audio sound track that read all of the plaques and such and it was very good. The castles also had audio tours and even though I don’t think those were originally intended for blind people, they worked very well for me. The one area that was not super blind friendly was Westminster Abby, but they actually gave me a human who provided me a narrated tour. One other thing to keep in mind that if you are visiting any of the castles and you ask a question to one of the liveried guards, they often cannot answer you. And you don’t always know why they are ignoring you. The reason is that if they are standing guard, particularly when a royal is in residence, they are not allowed to speak. When that happened though, other tourists were pretty helpful. </p><p class=MsoNormal>> </p><p class=MsoNormal>> Ronza Othman, President</p><p class=MsoNormal>> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland</p><p class=MsoNormal>> 443-426-4110</p><p class=MsoNormal>> Sent from my iPhone</p><p class=MsoNormal>> </p><p class=MsoNormal>>> On Aug 1, 2022, at 8:33 AM, ibrahim abedrabbo via NFB-Muslims <nfb-muslims@nfbnet.org> wrote:</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> </p><p class=MsoNormal>>> Salam friends,</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> I have a tentative plan to visit London with another blind friend of mine at the end of August.how difficult do you think it will be for us to navigate its attractions, streets, and its public transportation systems? Have any of you made such an adventure?</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> Please, if you have any tips or suggestions, do not hesitate to share with me here or in private if you feel more comfortable. </p><p class=MsoNormal>>> Salam,</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> Ibrahim</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> </p><p class=MsoNormal>>> Sent from my iPad</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> _______________________________________________</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> NFB-Muslims mailing list</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> NFB-Muslims@nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-muslims_nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFB-Muslims:</p><p class=MsoNormal>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-muslims_nfbnet.org/rothmanjd%40gmail.com</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________</p><p class=MsoNormal>NFB-Muslims mailing list</p><p class=MsoNormal>NFB-Muslims@nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-muslims_nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFB-Muslims:</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-muslims_nfbnet.org/kd5cbl%40gmail.com</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>