I just got back from Europe last night after being trapped in the Paris, France airport.

I had just arrived on one flight and was supposed to head back out on another, but it just didn't work out that way. My luggage was on one conveyer, while it was supposed to already be on the plane. By the time

I tracked it down, I had only about 20 minutes to get all the way around the airport. That was impossible in Charles De Gaulle Airport, which is roughly the size of the city of Charlotte. Add to that fact that everyone is speaking a language that I only vaguely understand and you start seeing how I felt. Not only did the people not understand me, they didn't try and they didn't care. Not to mention that I had already lost a good deal of sleep just getting to Paris from Moscow, where I had been staying. Needless to say, it is a very long story.

After asking several airport personnel for help, I finally met a black man from Senegal and a Japanese woman from Tokyo who spoke English and were very kind.

I found it quite remarkable that I just had left Russia without a hitch. This is the country in which everyone said I was going to have a hard time traveling.

In fact, I found (most) Russians friendly and helpful, while the French were another story entirely.

My uncle, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, once told me that we should have killed the French and saved the Germans. He said the Germans (common people, not SS storm troopers or Gestapo agents) were a clean, well-mannered and generally a good lot.

He said the French people were generally, nasty, rude, arrogant and generally terrible. After spending some time in Paris, I tend to agree with him.

I say we leave the Iraqis alone and bomb the French. I might even pitch in a little on the war effort.

The French people, in general, were fairly rude. While this is their reputation here already, I can tell you that they generally live up to it.

Maybe I just met the wrong people under the wrong circumstances, but I can safely say that I would avoid Paris at all costs in the future. The Eiffel Tower? It's just a stack of steel. In any country, it is the people that make the experience memorable.

This week, I am still freshly recovering from a very serious case of jet lag. I can't think very well and my body is constantly telling me that it is the middle of the night.

When I left Paris (a day after I was supposed to leave), it was about 11 a.m. When I arrived in Charlotte, it was about 4 p.m. The flight was about nine hours long. It doesn't figure.

One of the places I visited in Bashkortostan is about 10 hours ahead of my usual, every day Sparta time. So every time it is time to get up you feel like it is time to sleep and every time you sleep your body thinks it's time to go. Just when you get adjusted to the new time, it is time to leave. I suppose it could be worse, I could still be in hades, I mean, Paris.

I will try to give more details about my trip next week, including some of the folks I met. At least I got to take in a few of the sites and sounds of Paris, like body odor, cigarette smoke and over-powering cologne.

I really loved it, can't you tell?

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