Addies Irish Adventures

Hello again! Addie here! You might remember me from our last blog post, and I am back to share more adventures around Ireland! After making numerous stops along the DART line, I decided to jump on a train to the West and the North of Ireland! If you missed my DART adventures blog, check out my last blog post, “Happy Hiking in Dublin!” While studying at the Dublin Business School, I have made so many great friends from all over the world and at aparto. We all love to travel, and as a group have decided in our final weeks at uni to try and see as much of the Emerald Isle as possible!

Most people travel West to see Galway, a fantastic trip, but we went a little further west to Connemara! Connemara is one of Ireland's beautiful national parks and has an amazing coastline close by. We stayed in Clifden, and it was the perfect little getaway! Clifden is a small town, but it has the ideal amount to do for a weekend of visiting. To get there, we took a bus to Galway and then another hour and a half bus to Clifden, and it dropped us in the center of town. 

I didn't know that Connemara is the focus of a famous French song that my friends listen to! The song is called “Le Lacs du Connemara.” They play this song when they end a party, and everyone sings and dances - the CRAIC is always mighty! We played the song on repeat the entire trip. 

One of the trip's highlights was renting bikes from the Clifden Bike Shop and going along sky road! An adorable couple owns the shop, and they were kind in giving us directions. Unfortunately, the tourist office was closed, so we used the bike shop to ask questions, get food recommendations and get familiar with the area. To tell you the truth, there’s not much in Cliften; we went to the three pubs there, which is all you need for a great weekend trip. 

Nestled in the heart of Connemara, the next day We visited Kylemore Abbey, on the Wild Atlantic Way. The Abbey is a haven of history, and explored the beautiful grounds and churches. The Abbey is home to a Benedictine order of Nuns for the past 100 years. We were lucky enough to have blue skies and not a drop of rain all weekend, which is a miracle being so close to the coast and the ever-changing weather. 

The following weekend we headed up to Northern Ireland! One of my favourite parts of our Northern Ireland trip was the UNESCO-listed Giant’s Causeway! It is a must-see if you make the trek to Northern Ireland. The Causeway formed 50 to 60 million years ago when the tectonic plates pulled apart, and lava came through that was cooled by the sea, creating the hexagonal columns we see today. I could’ve sat by the ocean all day here. It was a stunning landscape, and we were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day. Not forgetting this stunning setting featured in the thrilling HBO series, Game of Thrones.

Another highlight of Northern Ireland was visiting Glenshane County Farm and learning about sheepdogs and herding! I highly recommend stopping by here if you are up North. The shepherds were welcoming and eager to answer all of our questions. It also has the most stunning view of the countryside!

I am sadly heading back home to the states, returning to my studies at Elon University, but I have loved living in Binary Hub and working as an Intern at aparto on the Marketing Team! Stay tuned for Addies Adventures - State Side!