Arcadia Ireland

The countdown is on and oh, what a treat we have in store.  Next weekend we have our regional trip for Fall 2017. This year, Arcadia students from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England and Scotland will be joining forces in the beautiful Belfast to explore what the city has to offer.

What a brilliant place for a regional! Belfast is steeped in culture and has a very unique history. It’s fraught past means that it’s the perfect place to unite students and really explain what happened and how such a small place could end up so divided.

Our weekend will start in Dublin where the 66 traveling students will meet at our Dublin centre. We will hit the road nice and early and our two full buses will descend on the Titanic museum just in time for lunch. The museum itself is a stunning and interesting building which holds a high-tech and interactive experience inside. Having explored all there is to see under the ocean, we will make our way to the Wellington Park Hotel where we will rest our heads for the weekend.

Saturday brings us to the Antrim Coast and the famous Giant’s Causeway. Known for its basalt rock formation, the Causeway gets most of its charm from the Irish folklore that surrounds it. Hearing stories of sleeping turtles and battling giants make the already breath-taking views all that more magical. Keeping in line with all things magic, after the Causeway we will stop at ‘The Dark Hedges.’ This long line of beech hedge was used in the incredibly popular Game of Thrones series and so all enthusiasts will be sure to get some Instagram worthy pictures.

Our final day consists of a lecture from Dr. Bill Rolston on the murals that were used as propaganda during the Northern Irish Troubles. Dr. Rolston will give everyone the background on the history of Northern Ireland, followed by a presentation on the murals that were used to encapsulate that history. Following this, we will do a city tour of Belfast with Dr. Therese Cullen who will show us the most famous spots in Belfast, and will stop off at some of the murals that are still there today.

Our weekend will be jam packed and will have something for everyone. Students will also have free time to explore the vibrant city as they please. We will be snapping the whole experience, so if you’re a SnapChat fan, make sure to follow along @ArcadiaAbroad.