Hi, my name is Chris Mosler, I’m a freelance writer and I have been blogging at Thinly Spread since 2010. My blog has evolved over time as my family have grown and is now focussed on vegan food, travel, crafts and sailing.
My husband and I run our specialist wooden flooring business together so escaping from time to time is really important! When we are wandering distant city streets or sailing our boat along the Dorset coast we don’t talk about work (much)!
Where was your favourite ever trip?
I love sailing on our yacht with all my family, it is my very favourite thing to do. However, if I were to choose a favourite trip without our four children it would have to be the trip my husband and I took to Venice four years ago – this is the one I dream about when I really want to get away from it all!
What made you choose to go there and who did you go with?
The decision to go there was taken for me when I was asked to review a Mediterranean cruise by my editor at Cruise International Magazine. She suggested that I make the most of it, take my husband with me and add a couple of days on at the beginning before we joined the cruise ship. So I did, I’d always wanted to visit Venice, it was an opportunity too good to miss!
What made it so special?
Visiting Venice was amazing from the moment we arrived. Everything was taken out of my hands and this had NEVER happened before! I always arrange our holidays and we always self cater – this time all I had to do was relax and enjoy the destination. Perfect.
We were whisked from the airport to the door of our hotel in a beautiful mahogany water taxi courtesy of the cruise line and then left to our own devices for three blissful days. My husband had cleverly booked us into a lovely hotel in the Dorsoduro district which proved to be a perfect spot for exploring the city.
We did our tourist duty and visited St Mark’s square but I am not a fan of crowds so we quickly dived into the side streets and back alleyways to wander happily soaking up Venice in all its glory. As boaty people ourselves we loved watching the hustle and bustle of waterway life as we meandered along – gleaming gondolas and their showmen gondoliers, Vaporetto water buses, post boats and rubbish barges were all vying for space on the busy canals. But my favourite had to be the rainbow colours of the veg barge – I daydreamed about living in this beautiful city with my own chic apartment visiting the barge in the morning before heading off to the Rialto market for mushrooms and bread!
It was wonderful not worrying about finding food for the whole family, just choosing a restaurant for the two of us or grabbing a slice of pizza to go. We sat and sipped wine as the sun went down and got to know each other again without the distractions of family and work.
Our departure from Venice was really something very special. We joined Princess Cruises’ Island Princess and sailed out along the Grand Canal with champagne flutes in our hands and huge grins on our faces. We looked over the buildings and streets, where we had so recently wandered before our ship headed out into the Mediterranean and on to the rest of our adventure.
Where was your least favourite trip and why?
My least favourite trip came early in my parenting days when we took our three small children to a large eco-festival. It poured with torrential rain for the whole time we were there and I spent most of my time carrying my daughter through the puddles which were deep enough to reach to her elbows, trying to dry bedding out enough to sleep in and trying to persuade everyone that we were having a wonderful time really! Everything was mud!
What destination is on your Bukit list?
I really want to sail in the Caribbean – diving off our boat in English waters is wonderful, but bracing! I’d love to swim in warm waters before returning to the boat for cocktails and nibbles!
Thankyou Chris! How wonderful your photos are!
