Downpatrick Travel and Tourism Guide

I woke refreshed at 8:20am and wished I’d brought my camera inside.  As I looked down across the foot of the bed, a lone cow stood in profile on the hill across the street, perfectly framed through the large bedroom window.  While I freshened up and dressed, several other bovines joined the first as they all grazed in the quiet rainy morning.   Downstairs in the kitchen with Angela, I enjoyed a nice breakfast of cereal, breads, and tea.  She offered to cook as well, bu...

Still on a weird sleep pattern, my friend and I woke around 530am and did some exploring.  We ran into our first locals, a couple of boys coming home from a pub.  They were completely drunk, but harmless and very excited to be talking to some girls.  They were hysterical, and it set the tone for our trip.  The moment was priceless.  We had breakfast at the hotel and set our luggage out to be put on the bus.  Breakfast was provided every morning. ...

Before leaving Northern Ireland, we did not stop in BELFAST, only getting a tour from the bus; seeing a Queen Victoria statue and the Europa Hotel, the most bombed hotel in Belfast and only a couple of streets. I would have loved to walked around but we only got off the bus for a pit stop. Pity. Next was south to DOWNPATRICK where we saw the grave of St. PATRICK (buried in 461) on Cathedral Hill, DOWN CATHEDRAL and a former jail where we went inside and saw the cells. NEWB...