pope benedicto xvi

i left home early just to check out the crowd on 5th avenue who were waiting for the pope. i thought i was going to be the first one there. lo and behold, people were already singing and praying on the side walk.





so, i joined the crowd waiting for the pope to pass in front of us on his way to st.patrick's cathedral. i stood right in front of the plaza, between 59th and 58th street. to make the story short, after a bit of excitement, helicopter flying by and police siren at 9am, the pope and his entourage zoomed by in front us to the cathedral. i was only able to catch the front of the limo.


it was only 9am and i was not going to wait until 1pm. so, i decided to go for breakfast and come back at 1pm. this time i decided to wait for him on 72nd street. the area was not that packed when i got there at 12.30pm but more people showed up as we got closer to 1pm. i would say 90% of the crowd was spanish speaking community and came as far as california.




one crowd down the street were beating the drums and trumpets non stop.
so, as the excitement built up and you knew that pope was going to pass by any time soon when 1/2 a dozen helicopter hovered above you and the drum beat were getting louder.
you couldn't help but get excited too. the side started to get packed and crowded.


and yes, i got a picture of the pope in his pope mobile but can't see his face. i remember thinking while i was taking pictures that i should be looking at the pope instead of focusing on my camera and hope that i got a good picture, unfortnately, i am a bit disappointed with the outcome. see for your self. however, it was a great a feeling to be able to be that close to the pope who was literally 10 feet away from me. hopefully, in the future i would have another opportunity to see him.