Five vignettes: The Pope Comes to Paris from glynnis on Vimeo.

The pope was in Paris this weekend, which on certain occasions made the city a little nuts.  Several metro stops shut down for most of the day surrounding the various pope-related events in the city.  Friday night after class I went to Saint-Michel to find a textbook I need for French class, only to stumble upon masses of people (see the first vignette) crowding around the Seine and Notre Dame, where the pope was giving a private mass.

Saturday morning he gave mass at Les Invalides, a giant field/park in front of the building by the same name, which houses Napoleon's tomb.  An estimated 200,000 people showed up, including my room mate and I, who were curious about the spectacle.  We arrived around 8AM, and the pope arrived in the popemobile around 10AM.  After his arrival and a few prayers, we headed back to the apartment to catch up on sleep.

Perhaps it's revealing of my small-town roots, but I think that's the most people I've ever seen before in one place.  Many people brought chairs and picnics with them, which they ate as we all waited for the pope to arrive.  I'm sure for the rest of my life, I'll never see as many nuns at once.



More photos on flickr.