Paris (France)

[Mission with Mike B. from NAS Sigonella to Paris.]  This was one of those amazing "lost chances." I wasn't planning to stay in Paris, but an air traffic controller strike (countrywide) caused us to be grounded. Before we landed at Le Bourget, we circled over the Eifel Tower for nearly an hour. Once on the ground, the handler took us to the site on the airport where "Lucky Lindy" got out of his airplane in 1927.  The ride from that historic location over to a hotel near the Charles de Gaulle Airport was long and took us farther from the city. When we got to the Holiday Inn Paris-Charles de Gaulle and checked into our rooms, we learned that all buses, trains and other ground transportation were also striking. This didn't deter me - I would have walked - and I had brought civilian clothes.  Unfortunately, no one else had (damn it...).  As a result, our aircraft commander told everyone to stay together.  So, we spent the entire night in a hotel bar - 20 miles from downtown Paris. You know that T-Shirt "Someone I know went to Paris and all I got was this ____ T-Shirt"? That is how the trip felt...