Fall Foliage Cruise — Return to Sydney, Nova Scotia

Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas in Sydney, Nova Scotia

In today’s article title you’ll note the words, “Return to Sydney, Nova Scotia.” That’s because it is a return, and sort of a sequel to 2014’s No, Not THAT Sydney; The OTHER Sydney. But this time we’ve landed during a chilly October morning, and this day in Sydney, Nova Scotia, was much more dismal than our previous visit.

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We didn’t have a tour planned this day, so Ursula and I headed out along the waterfront boardwalk with the intent of walking back to the ship via Sydney’s main downtown thoroughfare Charlotte Street. Of course, one of the first things you see stepping off the ship is the ‘Largest Cèilidh Fiddle in the World‘:

Largest Ceilidh Fiddle in the World

From here we hooked right and headed out onto the boardwalk. A quick look back gave us this view of Adventure of the Seas:

Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas

And naturally, I wanted a photo of Ursula with the ship in the background:

Ursula in Sydney

As you walk along the boardwalk you’ll soon come across some statuary. The first one we approached was ‘Land of Our Own’, a statue created by local artist William Ernest Brown, and dedicated to Cape Breton Island immigrants.

Land of Our Own

Beyond there is yet another piece of statuary of a more somber dedication. During World War II many supply ships sailed from the nearby HMCS Protection (also called Point Edward Naval Base). These vital supply ships for England were operated by the Canadian Merchant Navy, the equivalent of what we in the U.S. refer to as the Merchant Marine. It was a dangerous mission sailing slow cargo ships across a U-boat infested North Atlantic, and one in seven sailors did not survive the journey. This is the Merchant Mariners Monument:

Merchant Mariners Monument

Dedication to Merchant Mariners

On Wednesday we’ll head back through downtown, and stop for lunch along the way at a charming Irish alehouse. Until then I shall leave you with a more peaceful image:

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