I woke refreshed at 8:20am and wished I had 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, but she and her husband had already done so much for me, I could not impose another favor.  Paddy gave me directions back to the main roads in typical style.  Rather than using global directions of north, south, east, and west as all American routes and highways are marked, the folks of the emerald isle simply tell whether to turn left or right.

Continuing south to Downpatrick, my first stop was the cemetery around Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Down to honor the 12^th century grave of Saint Patrick.  His tomb is covered with a small area of coble stones around a large hunk of granite etched on the surface with a Celtic cross above his name.  I browsed more of the cemetery, reading some markers and taking in the hilltop views, before turning back to find a accommodations for the night.

Heading for my car, I spotted an older couple getting out of theirs and went over to ask directions to the local hostel.  Paddy and Angela Fitzpatrick, who were on their way out to celebrate their 31^st wedding anniversary, were the nicest couple.  They did not know of any hostels in town, so our conversation deviating into a half-hour conversation about The Troubles and Irish history, and tails of Downpatrick.  The kind couple then invited me to join them for dinner.  At first, I declined to allow them privacy on their special occasion, but they assured me it would be no intrusion, so I graciously accepted.

We walked down English Street to Justines Restaurant where I enjoyed a delectable grouper dinner and more stimulating conversation.  I also sampled some of Angela’s duck, which to me closely resembled steak.  For desert; I had a “Rough & Tumble;” I do not remember what it was exactly, but I know it was good.  Paddy generously insisted on picking up the tab as we asked the wait staff about hostels in the area.  The restaurant employees knew of none in town and suggested the nearest might be in Dublin.  At that point, my charitable hosts invited me to their home to stay in one of the spare rooms.  It was too much to ask, I said, but again they insisted and Paddy urged, “Do not look a gift horse in the mouth.”

After our fine meal, we went back to the cars and I followed Paddy and Angela to their local hangout for a couple of pints.  The roads to and from the bar were pitch black in the moonless night and I relied on their taillights like a duckling behind its mother goose.  With white walls, dark curtains, and sparse decorations, the public house had a fell like that of an Elks Club.  Aside from the staff, I had to have been the youngest person in there by 30 years, but it was still fun to sit and gab with my new friends and watch them dance.  It was a joy to see the couple so happy on their anniversary.

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. NEWBRIDGE HOUSE was our last stop getting a guided tour. It was built in the 1740's for the Archbishop of Dublin and still contains most of the original furniture. There was also a courtyard and a farm on the grounds.

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.  We had a long trip today, because we were headed north to Belfast.  Along the way we drove through a few small towns and stopped in Dundalk for a break.  We pulled into the Fairways Hotel for coffee and some snacks.  We headed back on the road around the coast to Downpatrick. 

In Downpatrick we visited the Down Cathedral and saw what is thought to be St. Patrick's grave.  We only spent a short time there, and we were off to our next destination.  The bus took us around the coast, which was really nice to see.