Dealing with the Press
On Monday, August 18, we began gathering at Logan International Airport's Catholic chapel where we would pray together before setting off. We came together in two separate groups because one small group would be leaving earlier and flying out of New York, while the rest of us would leave later in the afternoon directly from Boston. As we began our final preparations and said our goodbyes to family and friends, members of the local Boston media showed up.
The flight itself was nice. We flew on American Airlines and the local airline executive himself came down to see us off. I'm sure the presence of Cardinal Law had something to do with that. John somehow finagled an upgrade to a seat in Business Class. Compared to the cattle car, aka Coach, Business is heaven. Big seats, better food. I tried to get some sleep, but I was too keyed up so I watched the inflight movie, "The Saint." Appropriate for a pilgrimage.
My brother, John, being interviewed by
Amalia Barreda of WCVB Channel 5, the local ABC affiliate.
A group of youth experiencing their "15 minutes of fame."
Arrival!
Teens from Immaculate Conception parish in Salem
waiting after our 6 hour plane trip from Boston.
Oh and did I mention that there were giant crowds of pilgrims everywhere? It was packed! Paris in August is usually very hot and humid so no tourists come and the residents head for the countryside, but this year the city was full of people. And this summer was the hottest on record with those records going back to the 17th century.
We really didn't have a chance to see much of the sites, because we were on a tight schedule. One funny line that remained with us throughout the week was a constant comment from our guide this day. Whenever we would pull up at a site, he would say that we're not supposed to park here so we had to make it quick. "It is forbidden... so move quickly."
Cultural note: It seems every French woman wears heels all the time. They even wear high heel sneakers. By the way, I want to make a personal note to Krissy here: "I love Paris."
We arrived at our hotel in mid-afternoon. It was called Hotel Ibis and was in the Paris suburb of Bagnolet (which ended up being called Ban de Soleil). Paris is a huge city and is about the size of New York and Los Angeles combined. Bagnolet is right on the edge of the city, just outside the loop road, but the excellent Metro could have us in the center of city in about a half-hour.
I wish I had more positive things to say about Hotel Ibis, but all I can say is that it was adequate. The quality was somewhat lower than our most basic motels, and they squeezed two beds and a bunk bed into a 10x10 foot space. The electricity went out without notice and hot water could be somewhat rare. And our Peruvian, Italian, and Korean brethren in the hotel seemed to enjoy their late night revelries. Despite all that, and maybe because of it, I was constantly reminding myself that "this is not a vacation, it is a pilgrimage."
John standing in front of the Eiffel.
The lighted sign on the tower translates as
"865 days until the year 2000."
Krissy and Sue on the street next to Notre Dame.
Thousands of pilgrims were here, while
workers prepared for papal ceremonies.
John takes in the ambiance along the Champs Elysee.
Mandy and Sarah look awfully tired at the group dinner on Tuesday.
Later, the whole group of Boston pilgrims were treated to a special dinner hosted by Cardinal Law. While we were very appreciative, we were also very tired. It was a quiet dinner, although a notable few seemed to have endless reserves of energy (Randy, Debbie, etc.). We ended the evening and this very long day with high anticipation of the events planned for Wednesday.