Day 13 Sydney, Nova Scotia

What can I tell you about Sydney?  There are two main parts that make up Nova Scotia and they are Nova Scotia peninsula and Cape Breton Island.  Sydney is located on Cape Breton Island.  On our arrival into Sydney we are welcomed with the iconic Big Fiddle, a giant sculpture celebrating Cape Breton's strong Celtic music tradition.

Today we shared the cruise terminal with one of the Princess cruise lines ships. Our captains navigation skills were really tested today as the ship had to do a reverse parallel park to reach our docking point behind the Princess ship.

Our tour was to visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum at the coastal town of Baddeck.  It was another long bus drive but our young tour guide, of Irish descent, kept us entertained as she broke out into Celtic songs at intervals.  Most of the soulful songs were in Gaelic - a mixture of Scottish, Irish and Manx - and her voice was beautiful. She later told us that she is a professional singer.

St. Anns bay was our first stop.  As we crossed the bay via a "Sydney Harbour Bridge" lookalike, we had magnificent views on both sides. The caravan park that you can see in one of the photos shows the size of the caravan sites.  They certainly need plenty of room.  Some of those RV's are huge! You can also see in the photos just how much of Nova Scotia is covered in forest.  It doesn't make it much of an interesting drive between destinations….

Arriving into Baddeck, the first thing you notice is the lighthouse situated out on the point.  Our guide told us that it is the most photographed lighthouse in Nova Scotia. (We were told yesterday that the lighthouse at Peggys Cove was the most photographed 😁)

The town is quite lovely with its heritage houses and once we disembarked the bus we headed to the jetty that was a restaurant hub with many people enjoying the abundant seafood.

Back on board the bus it was on to the Alexander Graham Bell museum.  Bell, a Scottish born inventor, scientist and educator, invented the telephone and also made significant contribution towards communication for the deaf (his mother was deaf), and other inventions like the hydrofoil.  Bell lived the last thirty years of his life in Baddeck.

It took us another hour and a half to return to Sydney from Baddeck but our singing tour guide kept us entertained.  This evening we had dinner in Sette Mare - the Italian Restaurant on board and Philip was very happy with his main course - Cioppino.  Bon Appetite!