25th October 2016. Sydney Nova Scotia.

We awoke to a morning, with our first glimpse of sunshine since our time in San Francisco, so there was a sense of excitement and some real  interest in this history and the part of the world.  

Sydney is a significant historical port with several landmarks from the late 1700's, such as the colonial Cossit House, and the Jost House with its unusual beehive bake oven.  We had arranged a private tour covering the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and the scenic Village of Baddeck.  We chose this through Tartan Tours and our guide was Diane a local, all of her life, who provided excellent commentary over the 4.5 hours of our tour.  We did this trip because we had previously toured through Sydney on an earlier Princess Cruise. 

Dianne met us at 9.00am on the wharf beside the "big fiddle" the largest violin in the world.  We departed by heading to Baddeck which is west of Sydney and undertake a circuitous route to the picturesque township across beautiful countryside passing over Seal Island Bridge and stopping to take photos at Kelly's Mountain.

The drive took almost 70 minutes and we then arrived at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum with its unusual tetrahedron design, which he used in his flight test kites. Although he is renowned for the telephone invention, it only touches upon his scientific achievements.   He also collaborated on another 12 areas such as medicine, genetics, electricity, sound, speech aeronautics, as well as marine engineering.  We had about 75 minutes to explore and enjoy the museum.

we then went back into the small township of Baddeck, did some shopping then travelled down to the picturesque Bras d'Or Lake, which is scenic, and also a widely regarded resort town. 

Our small group of 5 enjoyed a spirited and interesting guide, who worked hard to give us a good excursion experience which reflected the local area.  We commented as a group that we achieved a lot during the time without the pressures  associated with the bigger buses. 

An important stop was made on our return as we visited the government run and controlled liquor store where we purchased alcohol to take on board Regatta. 

The afternoon was quiet with lunch and a departure formHallifax at 4.00pm. 

An enjoyable day and our small tour group got along well.  Ken to put s review on TripAdvisor.