Rome...Just Saw the Pope..July 2013

Today is Sunday mid-day and I just returned from seeing the Pope. I left early to go to the church to hear the organ and music..then got over to St. Peters Square about 10:30 AM…and the crowds were gathering. I looked around for about 10 minutes to try and get a good vantage point to the window from which he would speak…found the spot up against a concrete pole that had some shade…and perched. Probably 10,000 there at that time, just looking at the crowd that I could see….and ended up talking with a family from West Virginia that used to live in the Bay area and now live in Switzerland, and brought their –in laws to Rome. He is with Genentech…engineering type with a MBA from, guess where, Stanford. Nice family with two teen aged boys that are really enjoying the European experience…both speaking three languages, French, German, and English.

About 11:45 the window opened and out came the shield for the Pope. Now this is no ordinary window. It is like a large glass patio door…but the Vatican buildings are so large that from the distance they look like windows. His staff set out the shield, then the mike, then a transparent stand for him to read from….then closed the curtain and went back inside. At exactly 12…out came Pope Francis, waving to the cheering crowd. Thanks to the binocs, Curt…I could see him quite close up….he looks to be about 60, very young sound, and very young appearing, in that he moved a lot and had a lot of gestures. He spoke with lots of emotion…and got a number of reactions from the crowds, from laugh to cheers to clapping. He is obviously a real favorite. Part of the time he had a nice smile on his face, and one time had a laugh at one of the shouts from the crowd. He acted like he really was enjoying himself. Believe it or not, kind of reminded me of our political conventions, where the nominee is so highly touted, etc….and that was kind of the environment for the Pope. It was a very happy crowd and very responsive….he spoke for right on 15 minutes….and when it was over, I asked the fellow near me what he said, as this fellow was Italian but was talking to friends in English…basically a greeting and a blessing and an admonition to keep the faith….then a comment that he will be on vacation for 2 months…so don’t call him, and apparently that was what got the laugh. Quite a deal….I am glad that I was there.

I then went over to the Vatican Museum area…which is about a mile away…walking around the walls of the Vatican…to verify my ticket for tomorrow, etc….then headed to the Metro and one the way spotted a McDonald’s…so went in…probably 300 in line…I got a photo….and then the order taker approached me and I ordered a chicken burger, which is what they call it hear. She had a hand held device and placed the order on it…gave me a printout and told me to get in line….I got up there and she took the money, about $1.50 and handed me the sandwich….really a smooth operation…and were they ever moving the people in and out. It is actually a 3 story building with seating on all 3 levels…so no telling how many were in the store at that time. I ate at an outside bench and then headed down to the Metro and back to my room. They had told me they needed to change rooms, as my room needed some plumbing work that they were going to do today…so I am in a smaller but quieter room…really better, as the noise at night was disturbing…trams run until 1:30AM then start again at 6…so this will be better.

I am off to a Grand Organ program at 5…then am going to see the Trevi Fountain (3 Coins in the Fountain) at night…then go along the River at night to see the stands…..so will be back late and not write more for today…tomorrow I have the Vatican Tour. A great time….wish you guys were here…but know much of this only interests the old guy…..

More to come….