So Many Men, So Little Time......or, The Avord, France Airshow

I first have to say that airshows are such a trip. Okay, sure there's the standing around in the hot sun sweating and dehydrating all day. Okay, and there's the "Sorry, I don't speak French" thing, but it's the rest of it that's fun! Here's the flow of events, as they generally play out:

Arrive at the host base at least one day prior to the event. In our case we originally planned for the airshow to be Saturday and Sunday, but were pleasantly surprised to find it was Sunday only and Saturday was a practice day. The first night the host base sponsors a Beer Tent where all the aircrew members can get together and....drink beer! Okay, of course it is also about international relations, blah, blah, blah. Mostly it's just hanging out having a good time with your friends and the party never really starts till NATO is in the house. This picture is with Ingo, from our squadron.

After the beer party we boarded the bus to drive into Bourges, the nearest big city. The "boys" of course were looking for a bar, I was lucky enough to find a couple folks who wanted to see the sights so we checked out the Cathedra...gorgeous!! There was a blue light tour around the town at night showing all the historic religious sights and there were slide shows playing with music. We followed the music down one dark alleyway which led into a convent courtyard and had a music and light show.

Saturday I was up bright and not so early to catch the bus into town again and see the sights in the daylight. I was joined by the two other women on the trip and we took the Cathedral Crypt tour. Unfortunately, it was all in French and we only understood none of it. They did give us a booklet, but it told about 4% of what the guide told the group.

After the Crypt tour we headed up 350-some odd stairs to the top of the Cathedral. The walk up the stairs showed graffiti from the 1800s!! It was amazing and quite the view, but we were exhausted.

Sunday was, of course, the airshow. The French demonstration team performed, although I have to maintain U.S. pride and say the Thunderbirds are MUCH better:) I had a great time "talking" to folks, but if I never say Bonjour again it will be too soon!

After a grueling day we headed to the invitation only, which we managed to snag about 20 invitations for, cocktail party. While I understand French champagne is good and it's best served with small snacks, drinking it after a long hot day is not as great as you might imagaine. On the left is Timo and Shrek, I don't know the other two guys names, but I traded patches with the one on the right so he wanted in the picture. Trading patches is the biggest pastime at the airshow and I somehow ended up with less than I went with. I'm not sure how that happens, but I've been told champagne cloudss the senses.
Overall, another successful NATO venture and fun to boot! I had a great time and if any of you make it over here, there is much more to see than just guys, I PROMISE!!