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life_in_the_blurry_lane

We were doing some reflecting and calculating on o

We were doing some reflecting and calculating on our trip so far and came up with these stats! The Driver is a Data Analyst so stats are never too far away

- 8,750km driven
- 750L of fuel used
- 168 days since we left Ireland
- Stayed in 64 different places for at least 1 night
- 7 countries visited
- 1 trip of a lifetime

We are so fortunate to be able to do this amazing trip and are grateful for it every day.

💚 (green heart emoji)

New blog post! 🌝 (smiling sun emoji) Our last

New blog post! 🌝 (smiling sun emoji)

Our last 2 weeks were spent in Germany, Luxembourg and France and we crammed in a few more alpacas!

Link in bio to read about how we got on living on a farm and driving for 6hours in one day!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderul pe

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderul person who nomincated me for an @ncbi_sightloss Vision Awards!

I'm so flattered that someone thinks my little blog is worth nominating! I really do hope my blog and the work of all of the other nominees can contribute to making Ireland a more inclusive and accessible place.

The Vision Awards are annual awards established in 2021 to recognise individuals and organisations for their leadership and example in helping to establish a more inclusive society for people who are blind and vision impaired.

I am shortlisted in the Individual category which recognises the exemplary work of an individual in advancing the needs of people who are blind or vision impaired. Through using their time, skills or voice, this individual has shown commitment, compassion and understanding to ensuring people who are blind or vision impaired have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

#VisionAwards2022

Over the last few weeks I've attended 2 irish virt

Over the last few weeks I've attended 2 irish virtual conferences all about accessibility and universal design in the built environment.

It's such an important topic as the built environment can be a huge barrier for people who have a disability. So I was so glad to know that key irish decision makers were also attending these conferences. Hopefully we will see some changes at home soon.

Since we left and started vanlife, I've been compiling some of the good and bad examples of built environments and accessible practices from France, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic and Italy

This pic is from Luxembourg which was full of tactile paving and audio pedestrian crossings.

It's been very varied but some examples are really good, and show how it could and should be done. My article on Marburg goes into more detail on how well built this city was.

Check out The Good and Bad Gallery on my website so see what I'm prattling on about.

Link in bio 💟 (pink square with white heart inside emoji)

The two conferences were
1. @ncbi_sightloss
Change This Space seminar (available to rewarch online)
2. Narional Disability Authority Annual Conference 2022 (available to rewstch shortly)

I feel like im bearing all in this video – I found

I feel like im bearing all in this video - I found it harder to post than many other VI related content! One of my favourite thing to do on the road is yoga. As we're travelling a lot, my studio is our pitch. So I've done yoga in car parks on the mountains, grassy and muddy pitches, by the side of a lake, on gravel and even in the van when it was raining. Its not glam (just like vanlife) and I'm not glam doing it. But who cares! It's good to be on a journey and be crap at something.

I'm doing online classes and one thing that really bothers me is how inaccessible they can be. I heavily rely on the descriptions of poses as I use a small(ish) screen which can be hard to see in daylight. Often times, these aren't detailed or specific enough so my flow is disrupted trying to check out what I'm supposed to be doing.

This isn't a slight on yoga teachers and their capabilities. It's just a comment on my experience as a VI woman doing online yoga.

Maybe some day I'll become a teacher and fill that niche in the market. If I'm having an issue with it, someone else must be too.

The song I used for this video is called The Journey - which feels very appropriate!

The best weekend with some Alpaca friends! . . . .

The best weekend with some Alpaca friends!
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#AlpacaFarm #HouseSitting #PetSitting #VanLofe #Travelling #Germany #alpaca #AlpacasOfInstagram

I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with @ncb

I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with @ncbi_sightloss podcast about our travels around Europe - and how accessible it has been so far.

Their podcast also has lots of other guest who speak about all things sightloss.

If you're in need of a new podcast, give this one a listen.

Like in my stories!

The blog is back! After my summer holidays back to

The blog is back! After my summer holidays back to Dublin, I'm back into the swing of blogging.

This week's post looks at everyrhing we did in the last two weeks - which was a lot!

Dublin > Netherlands > Germany > Czech Republic

And now we're back in Germany!

Link in bio 💟 (pink square with inner white heart emoji)

One of our most scenic camping spots in Langelshei

One of our most scenic camping spots in Langelsheim. Germany 🇩🇪

#VanLife #Travel #Europe #Germany #BeautifulView #Scenic #TravelBlog

It's a dull and rainy day here in the Czech Repibl

It's a dull and rainy day here in the Czech Repiblic. I'm spending the day proof reading, planning and organising.

I'm still buzzed and inspired after @ncbi_sightloss Change This Space Seminar yesterday! It was so heartening to hear from world renowned speakers, knowing the audience consisted of people in Irish society who can make a real difference to the built environment.

So I have no new blog post this week but I wish to re-share one of my first! Last week was World Sight Day which filled my social media with interesting and educational posts about different forms of sight loss.

I might be a week late but I'll add my post to the pile! Check out my post "He has White Hair! Happy International Albinism Awareness Day" on my blog for an insight into Albinism, the skin and eye condition I have.

Link in bio!

PS. The cat is not ours! They just appeared and came in for cuddles.

ID - Aoife is wearing a pink hoodie and is sitting at the table in the van. She is working on a pink tablet. A white and tabby cat is curled up on the couch beside her.

Happy #WorldSightDay! About 55,000 people in Irela

Happy #WorldSightDay! About 55,000 people in Ireland are living with #SightLoss. Some of us are born with it, others acquire it throughout their lives through illness, accident or age. Therefore, it's so important to #LoveYourEyes and get them tested regularly so you can deal with any changes in your sight.

I get mine tested every year even though my prescription rarely changes.

It's easy to hate my eyes for what they have taken away but I choose to love them for everyrhing they've given me! Here are just a few of the things I love about them.

@ncbi_sightloss @feachireland @visionsportsireland @fightingblindness

#VisualImpairment #Albinism #Sight #Love #EyeCare

I was getting the DART todsy to meet my dad for lu

I was getting the DART todsy to meet my dad for lunch.

This sign is an example of the extremely poor wayfinding and information I encountered along the way. Who can read this? Yes it was a sunny day and that affects things but this is a crap sign.

On my way home, the train that pulled into the station had no working sign on the outside, no audio announcements and not working signs inside. I effectively got on an unknown train and hoped for the best.

I only knew I was on the right train when it pulled into a later station that was a junction - so I knew I was on the right line.

As a visually impaired traveller I heavily rely on the audio announcements and the station signs to understand what train I am on. I can't read the one at the front or side of the train as it passes by too quickly.

@irishrail this is not OK. It is not OK to have customers guess what train they're on, it's not OK to have inadequate signage that is not accessible for people who are blind or vision impaired. Please make your transport more accessible and signage more visisable for those with sight loss.

What a place the world would be if wvery single pe

What a place the world would be if wvery single pedestrian crossing had accessible audio, tactile and visual elements
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#Accessibility #VisualImpairment #travelling #PedestrianCrossing #Audio #Visual #Tactile

New blog post now live!! This is the last one for

New blog post now live!!

This is the last one for a couple of weeks as we take a holiday from our holiday to return to Dublin for a couple of weeks.

This post chats through our latest travels through Rotterdam, Utrecht, Leiden and Amsterdam. We've also spent a lot of time with some furry friends in a cat cafe and pet sitting.

Also, this is a picture of a building that was used in the making of Harry Potter 💙

Link in bio to read! 💟

THIS IS NOT OK. I try to keep things as positive

THIS IS NOT OK.

I try to keep things as positive as I can - showing good examples of accessibility but this enraged me today.

This is a picture of a small car park directly across tactile paving on a footpath. It's not even near a kerb or a parking spot. It should not be there for many reasons.

There are so many things I could say about this. Its illegally parked. Its disrespectful. Its ignorant and it just shows a blatant disregard for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. It is cluttering the pedestrian path and is covering up an essential piece of accessibility paving that some people need to get from A to B.

This is not OK.

I will happily stand corrected if I have missed something here and have gotten the wrong end of the stick, or this was parked due to an emergency and will be moved ASAP (still not OK).

Use your gift of full sight and a drivers license to find a parking spot. Stop making life even more difficult for those who do not have those gifts.

3 things I can't see due to my Visual Impairment t

3 things I can't see due to my Visual Impairment that most fully sighted people can.

1. The rain - I can hear it but can't see it
2. My leg hair - I have to shave my feeling alone
3. My toenails - painting them is near impossible!
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#VisualImpairment #Accessibility #CantSee #VIGirlProblems #rain #VanLife #travelling

NEW blog post! This week its getting a bit persona

NEW blog post! This week its getting a bit personal as I write about the three most common missconeptipsn I've come up against due to having a visual impairment.

I'll admit - I'm a bit nervous about posting this one. Not sure why? I suppose I hope people don't take it the wrong way.

Anyway, I'm going to post this and then put my phone away. Like the old days when you'd send a text to someone you fancied threw your phone away from you (onto a soft landing)

Check out the link in my bio to read the post 💟

The Netherlands 🇳🇱 weeks 1 and 2. I'll have

The Netherlands 🇳🇱 weeks 1 and 2. I'll have to be removed kicking and screaming from this beautiful country 🧡
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#TheNetherlands #TravelBlog #VanLife #Travel #sunset #windmill #bicycle #submarine #goats

NEW blog post now up on www.lifeintheblurrylane.co

NEW blog post now up on www.lifeintheblurrylane.com

This week its the latest installment of our travel itinerary and campsite reviews including @pukkelpop 2022, Valkenswaard and Burgh Haamstede

Click the link in bio to read about my first music festival, sharing a pitch with 200 college students and eating pancakes from a windmill!

There's a storm a brewing here #lightening #stor

There's a storm a brewing here

#lightening #storm #netherlands #VanLife

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