Hobnobbing in Maynooth

Apparently Andrew has left it to me to describe our Thanksgiving jaunt to Maynooth, a small town 1/2 hour's InterCity Rail ride from Dublin. I'm rather glad Andrew left this duty to me, because I'm a big fan of describing things.

Maynooth the town isn't much. We covered the main street in about an hour and a half, including a cafe stop for a trough of soup and a roll the size of a crescent moon, and another to buy Marcie's Christmas gift. But, NUI (National University of Ireland) at Maynooth is a perfect vision of 18th-19th century university, its main buildings forming a quad around a rose garden where I'm sure posh men wearing short pants and long socks once wandered with their walking sticks. The university also houses a seminary, St. Patrick's (gee, what an original name), and the halls are lined with portraits of cardinals, bishops, archbishops, etc.

There was a mulled wine reception at 7:00, in a long dining hall where the table was set for about 80. Fulbright alumni, board members, and current scholars and grantees were there, and Andrew and I mingled with people who study things like industrial psychology and the effects of tourism on rural islanders. I talked with the people who had kids, and tried to pump them for information about how they found sitters, who cost infinitely more here than they do in the US.

Dinner itself was excellent: salad with olives (YES!) and parmesan, pumpkin and tomato soup, a plate of turkey with sage and onion stuffing rolled up inside a thin piece of ham, traditional side dishes, TWO desserts-- pecan pie and apple pie. There was wine the entire time, and coffee after. Gorgeous.

Andrew and I slept very soundly, in a room with high ceilings and heavy curtains.