vickygoestravelling

my journey to health and well being via exotic destinations


by Leave a comment

In search of our ancestors: Fogels in Boskovice and Brno

[continued…] The next morning David and Jess leave early. By 8.45 we’ve heard nothing and anxiety returns. It’s a good three hours drive to Boskovice and I need to be there by 2pm…Finally we hear the news and its not what we are expecting! Not having a licence is the least of our problems – we have no vehicle! The rental place is closed down! So they have been trying valiantly to secure another transport but it’s Easter and nothing is available. 

Eventually they manage to track one down which appears to be bona fide (car hire in Prague is renowned for being a scam we discover) and it will be  delivered within the hour…we wait and wait but they can’t deliver it to us (heart sinks), we will have to walk with all our luggage to the other side of the Old Town square. I am feeling distinctly nervous now as it 10 am, but lo and behold there is a van! And a good one!

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

In search of our ancestors: Fogels in Prague

On the bridge over the Vltava outside the National Theatre near the family home

My half-sister Bonnie messages me to say she and her son David, his wife Jessica and their two boys, Aden and Leon, are coming to discover their Czech roots for Spring Break. ‘And we can’t do it without you!’ Spring Break? That’s impossible I say – three stops in five days with jet lag! Plus it’s Easter week so it will be crowded!

Continue reading →


by 2 Comments

Remembering Louise 15 years on

2nd March 2026 was the 15 anniversary of the terrible morning when we heard Louise had died. Each year we mark the occasion by visiting her bench with family and friends and then go off somewhere to celebrate her memory.

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Mexico 4: Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc

Palacio del Gobernador, Uxmal

We are anxious about crowds, so we set off very early to reach Uxmal, arriving at 8.15 am. The last part of the road is very narrow, as it is the route used by the lorries avoiding the toll road to Campeche. Amazingly the only other people there are another English couple who take a fine photograph of us three in front of the Piramide del Adivino, the magnificent structure that greets you on arrival. Atty is excited because, although living in Mexico, she has never visited an archaeological site before.

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Mexico 3: Merida and around: Izamal & Celustun

Modern wooden jaguar, one of the most power symbols of Mayan mythology

We arrive in Merida after a pain-free drive on near empty roads thorugh central Yucatan. Finding our home for the next week is not as challenging as it might have been before sat nav: Merida is laid out on a grid system and the streets seem to have alternate one-way systems. We can already see that this low-rise city with its colourful buildings is going to fun!

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Mexico 2: Chichen Itza

Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo)

After a week on the Mayan Riveira we pick up a hire car in Playa del Carmen, which will be ours for the next week. We had been nervous about driving in Mexico but, despite the towns and cities being slightly hairy due to there being no obvious rules of engagement, aside for give way to the left on roundabouts – the main roads are mainly empty due to the tolls, so easily navigable.

Continue reading →


by 4 Comments

Mexico 1: The Mayan Riviera – cenote diving & Tulum

Diving at just above the sulphate layer and 30m at Angelita cenote

A couple of years ago we successfully bid for a week in a house in Merida at a charity auction. For some reason we never got round to using that week but, one summer afternoon, feeling rather gloomy, I rashly booked some flights to Mexico for the first two weeks in November!

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Check out my new website – Vicky’s Big Adventure!

Finding my mother’s diaries and travel notebooks of her journeys, now published online as Travels with my Mother, inspired me to re-read my travel diary of my overland trip to India in my gap year, in 1976.

So by clicking on this link you will join the often arduous yet fascinating journey of 18 year-old pursuing her dream trip to the Hindu Kush!

Here are some photos to whet your appetite:


by 2 Comments

European Grand Tour 3 – Florence

Fra’ Angelico’s masterpeice, Crucifixtion with the Saints, San Marco

The last stop on our Grand tour is Florence, where our old university friend Debbie has lived since 1983! We only have two nights and one full day, with an afternoon and a morning on either side. Our fast train from Venice to Florence delivers us safely and we find the left luggage lockers before we sprint down to our rendezvous with Debbie, who has volunteered to whizz us round the Uffizi. On the way she poses with Hil outside one of her former employer’s buildings, Ferragamo!

Continue reading →


by 2 Comments

European Grand Tour 2 – Venice

The mini bus ride to Venice is pretty straightforward and only Euros 30 (aside from a terrible accident which slows us up as soon as wee arrived in Italy|) – hop on, hop off! We are deposited in Tronchetto and find a vaporetto that takes us to San Marco, where it is a short walk to the delightful Hotel Flora. Down a side street, it was a former palazzo and is set around a leafy courtyard where we breakfast each morning. Our room is tiny (servants’ quarters we guess) but it is ‘location, location, location’. After a couple of yummy Venetian G & Ts we set off for dinner via La Fenice, where there are elegantly clad ladies and gents enjoying some sort of performance, taking a breath in the interval, to the restaurant Ai Mercanti, which I strongly recommend.

Continue reading →