Saw and heard the Pope

On Sunday we headed to St. Peter's Bascilica. We were going to explore the area and visit the church when it opened. I had not checked the schedule but Pope Francis was giving a short speech at noon. We joined the crowds and waited in line to see him. It was a chaotic mess. People were pushing and cutting the line to merge and there were not enough police to monitor the lines. We did see the Pope in the upper window although I really could have used some binoculars. (He is the small white dot in the window with the banner hanging below it.) There were large TVs set up and and they offered a better view of the Pope. The speaker system was good and his talk was naturally in Italian and was quite short. It was an experience we had not planned on having but now I can say I saw the Pope in Rome. We went to lunch and then waited in line again to enter St. Peter's. Again it was a chaotic mess and we waited for and hour and a half because they only had 3 security check point open. -Nancy