World Youth Day

Part of our visit to Sydney after the trip to the outback included some of the World Youth Day events. John's brother, Mark, came from Canada for a few weeks with a few friends, to see New Zealand and Australia and to participate in WYD, so it was nice to see Mark while we are in Australia. We didn't do too much as a family for WYD, because it was hard getting around (ie: lot of walking!) with the girls. John did go out with his sister and brother and friends to a few events, and as a family we went to the final papal mass at Randwick Racecourse. It was a great experience, and everything was so well organized in Sydney with regards to crowd control (wasn't needed - everyone was very well behaved) and transportation (the CityRail system had lots of staff and extra trains to keep things moving). At the final mass, we were out at the fringes, and halfway through Rachel asked what that big red 'building' was, and I had to tell her that it was the stage with the altar! Here's our view: