Sydney & Baddeck, NS

From Sackville we made our way to Sydney, NS. Our first stop was to Visitor Information at the cruise ship terminal. It was surprisingly small.  The Sydney Ports Corporation created The Big Ceilidh fiddle to recognize the pre-eminence of fiddle music and the fiddlers, past and present, who have contributed so much to the musical heritage of Cape Breton Island.  The fiddle stands 17 metres tall, is made from painted steel, weighs eight tons, and was fabricated over an eighth–month period by Cyril Hearn, a Sydney artist and welder.  The town is quite pretty.



While in Sydney we took in the Fortress of Louisbourg, France’s jewel in the 18^th century, Canada’s treasure today.

Main Street

2013 is the 300 year celebration. Very cool.  

Building housing the Governor's Apartments and the King's Bastion Barracks.

Fortress Chapel

ice hut

While at Louisbourg, we saw the beginning of the ceremony of swearing in of new Canadians. It is quite a production. A top notch government lawyer from Ottawa attended and was escorted by an RCMP officer.



Louisbourg Lighthouse is the site of the historic first Canadian lighthouse. The lighthouse is a popular lookoff point and in 2008 became the start of a coastal walking trail.   It was a very enjoyable day!!

Baddeck, in Cape Breton, was so much fun. We went to dinner and then went to a Ceilidh gathering. This is also known as a “kitchen party” full of music from various musicians. For 2 hours we totally enjoyed the fiddlers and dancers.  They even served tea & oat cakes during intermission! 







Featured fiddler accompanied by this pianist who is also a music professor ....excellent!

audience participation in square dancing

                                                                                                           Celtic Dancing

Fiddler from ON

she wrote her own music...really good!!

It was a great night!!

The next day we would board our ferry to NFLD!