Downpatrick...

Again, I've been slacking on keeping this blog updated. My most sincere apologies!

Let's start with this past weekend. Saturday we caught an early train to Belfast Great Victoria Street Station to connect with a bus to Downpatrick. Downpatrick is a small city/town about forty minutes south of Belfast in Co. Down famous for being the site of St. Patrick's grave. The bus ride itself was a highlight, as we drove through the Catholic side of Belfast and then out into the countryside. The countryside was exactly as I had pictured it - rolling hills covered in the greenest grass I have ever seen, spotted with sheep and cows, quaint farm houses and cottages. To top it all off the sky was its signature shade of gray, looking like it might rain at any second. Fortunately, the rain didn't come, although it was unusually cold for Ireland and the wind blew right through all the layers of clothing I was wearing.

Upon our arrival in Downpatrick, we headed straight to the St. Patrick Centre, a tourist information center and museum. The museum has one exhibit that uses about ten different multi-media stations to tell the life story of St. Patrick: He was kidnapped by Celtic barbarians at the age of fifteen and brought to Ireland to be a slave. During his time here, he was drawn much closer to God and would pray at least 100 times a day and 100 time a night. Eventually he escaped to France, but after a few years heard God's voice calling him back to Ireland. So, he was ordained as a bishop in France and then sailed to Ireland where he spread the gospel to thousands. Today he is an Irish icon, and his life is celebrated on St. Patrick's day with huge parades and celebrations.

Our group spent about an hour in the exhibit and then we ventured out into the cold and up the hill to the Downpatrick Cathedral. I saw the cathedral from a distance as our bus approached the city, not realizing that it was the cathedral we had come to see. Outside the cathedral is a small graveyard, in which a large stone is engraved with the name Patricus, marking the final resting place of St. Patrick himself. The interior of the cathedral wasn't quite as impressive as I had imagined. It smelled like a damp basement and the decor was far from extravagant. There were, however, some spectacular stained-glass windows. The pews were pretty interesting as well; it appeared as though each family got their own little box of seats.

Our next stop was the County Down Museum. The museum is housed in the old Downpatrick jail, or gaol. We had a fabulous time here, checking out artifacts dating from ancient times to the 1990s. The exhibits were geared toward both children and adults alike, so naturally we had the most fun with the children's dress-up clothes. Among the artifacts from the 1980s was a Barbie doll wearing a red and white dress with hearts on it - I had that same dress for my Barbie dolls when I was a child! Something I played with is now in a museum - boy, did that make me feel old! We also got to tour the jail cells in the museum as well. Some of the prisoners, like one woman who had been arrested for stealing three pairs of socks, were sent to Australia for 7-14 years. Talk about a harsh punishment, although Australia can't be that bad, right?!

Having had our fill of Downpatrick, we boarded a bus back to Belfast. We went to the Crown Bar for a deliciously cheap dinner - I had fish and chips. The Crown is this really old Irish Pub with traditional Victorian decor. The ceiling is solid and intricately carved wood. It was beautiful! After our dinner we decided to go to Great Victoria Square and see a movie - Role Models. The movie, although inappropriate at times, was really funny and the perfect way to end the day...the day that surprisingly had no rain!