Our panoramic tour of the highlights of Marseille took us along the beautiful Mediterranean coastline, up through the rocky limestone hills, and into the inviting old port.

Although Marseille is France’s oldest city, rich in historic treasures, it has an exciting vibe as they prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Marseille will be hosting the Olympic sailing competitions, so the harbor areas are bustling as impressive event and viewing facilities emerge. Cranes dot the coastline as preparations are well underway.

Several remarkable monuments dot the coast, including the welcoming Monument Aux Morts Orients and an imposing replica of Michelangelo’s David. Built in 1924, the Monument Aux Morts Orients is a national tribute to the soldiers and sailors who died in battle in the Orient and other distant lands.

And I can’t imagine that David, built in 1903 in the 8th arrondissement on the Prado roundabout, hasn’t caused a traffic incident or two!

And beautiful beaches offer recreation and respite from the heat, which reached 90 throughout the day.

Marseille is home to several beautiful churches, most visibly the neo-Byzantine Notre Dame de la Garde, the Cathedral de la Major, and the quaint Saint-Ferreol, known as the Church of the Old Port of Marseille. Notre Dame, perched high above the port city, stands guard over the city day and night.

The charming Vieux Port (Old Port) is a natural harbor that hosts hundreds of watercraft, from sleek elegant yachts to old style fishing boats. This picturesque quay provides a romantic setting for its many shops, sidewalk cafes, and unique attractions. Many of the shops offer the products of Provence, including whole stores dedicated to the ubiquitous lavender, olive oil, and other mouth-watering delicacies. The recent addition of motorized scooters and bicycles add to the excitement, as riders dart through the crowded sidewalks.

We might have spent a little too much time in the charming La Cure Gourmande, an iconic shop offering sweets of all kinds, as the shopkeeper offered Doug an apron and a job!

And we couldn’t leave the Old Port without a nod to the Grand Carousel de la Canebiere.

Since Louis XIV chose Sete as the port where the Canal du Midi would join the Mediterranean in 1666, Sete was destined to be a maritime town in the south of France. Known as the “Venice of France” because of its many canals, Sete is a charming town offering a unique introduction to the Occitanie  Region. The residents fiercely cling to their regional identity, and proudly continue to speak their native language as demonstrated by our guide. Occitan to his core, Tony sprinkled his tour narrative with political perspectives and regional songs, which he sang and played on his fife as we made our way through the city.

The Port of Sete was originally inaugurated with a water jousting festival, a Medieval tradition that continues to this day. Every August, thousands of spectators flock to Sete for a week-long contest between two teams: blue (bachelors) and red (married men), although women are beginning to infiltrate the sport. Standing on special boats, the jousters try to knock each other into the river.

As we walked along Fisherman’s Village, we encountered many local fishermen as they prepared to go out for the catch of the day.

Locals gather at Les Halles, the lively local marketplace, where a variety of fresh products of the land and sea are available to enjoy there or take home.

The octopus is celebrated throughout Sete, with a statue in the middle of the town square. It is also baked into a local delicacy called tielle, a pie filled with octopus and tomatoes. It is considered a delicacy and is available all over town.

Our walking tour with Tony was fun, interesting, and HOT! After bidding a fond farewell, we boarded a bus for our ride to Pays de Thai wine region.

A short ride through the countryside took us to Tarbouriech, the realization of Florent Tabourich’s dream of developing a method of cultivating the most delicious oysters. This unique process creates artificial tides using smart solar panels and wind turbines. The oysters are grown on large frames in the lagoon and are lifted repeatedly from the water throughout their growing cycle, a process resulting in a sweeter taste and fleshy texture.

The proof of the method is oysters with a sweet, salty taste that’s perfectly paired with Picpoul de Pinet, a crisp white wine.

We ended our day in Sete with a return to the lovely canals and a breathtaking sunset.

Welcome back to Timeless Travelers…we’re delighted that you’ve decided to join us once again. On this trip, we’re trying to visit many of the ports we missed on our abbreviated 2020 World Cruise.  Starting with two delightful days in Barcelona, we’ll be cruising the Mediterranean to Istanbul, where we’ll spend several days before flying to Cairo. Once there, we’ll be sailing the Nile before heading home. One thing that’s different this time is that since our world cruise, we’ve added a new member to our family. Mocha Latte is a 2 year old mini Bernedoodle who has captured our hearts. She’s spending this time with her pals at Our Furry Friends, and we’re grateful to Ms. Babette who will make sure she has a great vacation too.

Although two days isn’t nearly enough time to experience everything Barcelona has to offer, we ignored our jet lag and packed as much as we could into our precious time there.

Barcelona is an exciting urban center that blends the historic with the contemporary in a way that delights the senses and literally offers something for everyone. With a tremendous focus on art and architecture, it’s truly a feast for the eyes! The influence of such greats as Gaudi, Picasso, and Dali is found everywhere.

The street lamps of Barcelona are exquisite, and range from very simple to absolutely extraordinary.

Barcelona’s markets are bustling centers for local commerce. One of the largest is Mercado de la Boqueria. Originally established in 1840, this market offers a huge selection of Spain’s renowned cured meats, cheeses, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and mouth-watering prepared foods.

Las Ramblas is one of the most iconic boulevards in Barcelona. Thousands of daily visitors enjoy the sights and sounds of the street, including the live statues that will “perform” for you for a small fee.

Murals, public art, and graffiti are found throughout Barcelona, and colorful street signs add interesting local flavor.

But the crown jewel of Barcelona is Gaudi’s masterwork, La Sagrada Familia. The largest unfinished Roman Catholic church in the world, it was supposed to be finished in 2026 in celebration of the centenary of Gaudi’s death. Covid, however, delayed the church’s completion, and some speculate that it will never be finished. A mix of architectural styles, the church is truly a masterpiece, deserving of a complete story of its own. Here is just a sample of this intricate, magnificent work of art.

There is so much more to Barcelona, its people, art, food, and culture, but with only two days to visit, we simply didn’t have time for everything. Here are just a few more photos that capture the spirit of this vibrant place. We would love to return some day.

Due to inadequate wifi service, we weren’t able to share our expedition in real time, so here’s a quick re-cap of each day. We loved this unique trip, and hope you enjoy this summary.

FOURNIER BAY: Sailing into Fournier Bay, we had our first look at Antarctica, and what a breathtaking experience it was! During the night, we heard some noise coming from our window, so we investigated and found that if we opened the window ever so slightly, the noise was reduced. In our sleepiness, we forgot to lower the room darkening shades, so our “wake up call” was a VERY EARLY sunrise. The silver lining was that we awoke to the sight of some magnificent islands and glaciers!

As the day went on, the bright sun gave everything a bluish cast, and we couldn’t resist spending a good amount of time outside on the various decks. The temperature hovered around 30°, so we were quite comfortable.

I don’t have words to describe the beauty of this bay. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity of spending an idyllic day in the midst of such unspoiled, magical vistas; crystal blue waters; icy glaciers; and snow-covered islands. 

NEKO HARBOR: Neko Harbor is an inlet on the Antarctic Peninsula on Alvord Bay, situated on the west coast of Graham Land. There is a very active volcano in this area, and the remains of an old Argentine refuge built in 1949, as well as a very large Gentoo penguin rookery. It was discovered by Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache in the early 20th century, and named for a Norwegian whaling boat, the Neko, which operated in the area for about 15 years. This was our first Continental Landing, checking a 6th continent off our bucket list. After a wet landing on a pebbled beach, we trekked up a steep hill to see the penguins. They’re SO CUTE, but we were warned not to get too close!

DANCO ISLAND: Danco is a 1 mile long island that lies in the southern part of the Errera Channel, off the west coast of Graham Island. Gentoo penguins nest right up to the summit of the island’s peak, which is also popular with a variety of Antarctic birds. After landing on a gravelly beach, we made the hike over ice and snow up approximately 410 feet for some breathtaking views of the surroundings.

HIDDEN BAY: Hidden Bay sits between Cape Renard and Aguda Point on the northeast coast of the Kiev Peninsula. It was named Hidden Bay because from the entrance, the bay is hidden by the Screen Islands. Quietly riding around in the zodiacs for about two hours, we had some incredible views of the bay and the Octantis, and our knowledgeable guide pointed out some very interesting wildlife and beautiful scenery.

PARADISE BAY: Being an early riser definitely has its rewards in terms of magnificent sunrises all to myself! First light near Paradise Bay cast a peach-colored shadow over the mountains that provided a very special moment. A little while later, we enjoyed our second Continental Landing where we visited Base Brown, a small Argentine station on Antarctica’s mainland. We also saw even more penguins during our hike up the snow-covered slope.

ENTERPRISE ISLAND: Enterprise Island was a popular site for whalers from 1915-1930, and several artifacts remain scattered along its coastline. During our two-hour zodiac exploration of this area, the waves picked up and it started snowing. We saw the remains of a shipwreck, to which several large sailboats were tied, one of which had sailed from Sydney, Australia! We also saw seals and cormorants, which at first glance look like penguins.

On our way to Half Moon Island, we sailed through a very large area of tabular icebergs, which are icebergs that have broken off from an ice shelf. Newly formed tabular icebergs have nearly vertical sides and flat tops. In the Antarctic, they can be tens of kilometers wide, and as much as 1,000 ft thick, but only about 10% is exposed above the sea surface.

We were also greeted by some Adelie Penguins that were trying to get out of our way.

HALF MOON ISLAND: Situated on the western shore of Livingston Island, Half Moon Island is part of the South Shetland Islands. Its name comes from the characteristic crescent shape. Here we met up with some fur seals as well as our first colony of Chinstrap Penguins, appropriately named for the black line at the bottom of their chins.

After crossing the no-less-shaking Drake Passage once again, we ended our journey where we began, in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world! We spent a leisurely day there, visiting various points of interest and enjoying some warm Argentine hospitality.

This brief re-cap doesn’t do justice to this adventure of a lifetime, but we wanted to share the highlights with you. Missing are details about our beautiful ship, the Viking Octantis, as well as a description of the many research partnerships Viking has made as part of their commitment to science. We learned so much from our wonderful guides from all over the world, and we were humbled by their knowledge and commitment to leaving this world a bit better than we found it.

The Drake Passage is the body of water between South America’s Cape Horn, Chile, and the South Shetland Islands. This convergence constricts the Antarctica Circumpolar Current, and can result in the “Drake Shake” or the “Drake Lake.” We had fingers crossed for the latter. Passing through the Drake has been described as “unpredictable, chaotic, thrilling, exhilarating, notorious, and violent,” and as the evening unfolded, we began to wonder if it was a mistake. Early in the morning, my insomnia proved to be a blessing, as I awoke before a very early sunrise and was rewarded with a spectacular array of magnificent colors.

As we entered the Drake, our captain announced that we were starting out in “friendly” weather, and we wondered why all the fuss. After all, we live in the snow belt of Northeast Ohio, so we thought we were tough. The Drake connects the southwest part of the Atlantic Ocean with the southern part of the Pacific Ocean, and extends into the Southern Ocean. These three oceans converge where there is little land to block the currents and wind, and the result is frequently the weather described above. We felt some wind and a bit of choppy seas, but Lars, the ornithologist onboard assured us that we would be thankful for the wind, because when there’s no wind, there’s no albatross. As the wind picked up around dinnertime, we were rewarded with the sighting of several Wandering Albatross, those that, with the Royal Albatross, have the largest wingspan.

As we enjoyed our dinner, the wind and waves picked up, and by the time we got back to our cabin, we were rockin’ and rollin’.

Throughout the night, we heard noise from something repeatedly banging against the ship, to creaks and groans as the Octantis navigated the stormy seas. Thankfully this ship was built for this kind of weather, but the stabilizers were definitely put to the test.

By morning, the winds began to dissipate, and we caught our first glimpses of some beautiful islands. We spotted a whale, and if you use your imagination and look closely, you can just about see his spray.

The islands on either side of the ship are breathtaking, and led us to the conclusion that no, crossing the Drake was NOT a mistake. It’s the shortest route to our ultimate destination, Antarctica! The spectacular islands are well worth the tumultuous night.