Day 6 - Sydney, Nova Scotia
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Today Crystal Serenity is anchored off the coast of Sydney, Nova Scotia. This morning, we visited Guest Services on Deck 5 to check on a couple of things and noticed that they provide handy little information pamphlets for each port we visit. Important information about the port, as well as a map, comes in very handy when you are exploring on your own.
We can already see that the lobby area has been decorated in preparation for tonight’s White Dress Party at 10:15pm.
A tender ride to shore is required here because of our anchorage. The tender ride only takes about 15 minutes.
After disembarking the tender near the muster station shown above, it is a short walk to the largest fiddle in the world (see photo at top of page). There are a series of local vendors with a lot of clothing items, local artisans, souvenirs and a restaurant .
There is a large Scottish community in Sydney and traditional fiddle music and dance was offered on one of the excursions here. It was fun just walking around the hall to check out the local merchants’ wares. We were able to procure our much sought-after refrigerator magnets to add to our collection. I think we now have more than 170 magnets from all over the world!
Rickee was on the hunt for some cough drops so we asked one of the local shopkeepers if there was a pharmacy nearby. She said we would need to walk “into town” by following the boardwalk for about a mile, then look for construction. Her instructions were vague, but I figured we could probably find our way. The boardwalk is right past the statue that can be seen from the tender boarding dock.
Boardwalk in Sydney
Sure enough, we walked on the nice, wide boardwalk for about a mile until it abruptly ended at a building with all kinds of construction. We walked about a block up to a main roadway, and from there, I could see what looked like a bright red PHARMASAVE sign. As we got closer, it appeared that everything on the street was closed, which we assumed was the case since it was a Sunday. We decided to try the door anyway, and lo and behold, the store was open!
We bought the cough drops and walked back to the tender boarding area just as one of the ship’s tenders arrived. It was perfect timing. We were back on board just in time for Afternoon Tea (3:30 to 4:30) where we enjoyed piano music today. Apparently, they rotate the entertainment at afternoon tea as we have enjoyed the violinist, the DJ (which seemed a little odd for afternoon tea) and the pianist.
Piano music at Afternoon Tea today
This evening, we decided to re-visit Avenue Saloon for a cocktail and enjoyed this peaceful and uncrowded bar. We did stay and listen to the excellent piano music of Joel Spire.
Avenue Saloon
Once again, we ate so much at Marketplace for lunch, plus Afternoon Tea, that there was no room left for dinner tonight. We just enjoyed sitting in Avenue Saloon listening to Joel’s piano music.
Tomorrow, Crystal Serenity will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I am planning to spend the day with my friends, John and Sandra Nowlan, who live in Halifax.
