Was most lucky to see the 1999 eclipse as well, in full, clear skies.
I was close to Strasbourg and early in the morning we (two daughters and a niece) went to the area of interest. We managed finally to evade the traffic jams but that meant that we had to settle for more of the outside area. Lucky us. So we were picknicking out there looking through the dark glasses. However only about ten minutes before total eclipse I noticed a big shower moving in, about to obscure the sun. So we scrambled into the car, hit the accellerator and headed away from the cloud. I still don't understand why we were the only ones reacting. All other spectators stayed put. But that was okay, streets empty and I could cover several kilometers, getting ahead of the shower. So we stopped and total eclipse was there for about 90 seconds.
After the event we looked at each other and promissed that we would also make every effort to see the next one too. Then heaven opened and the torrential rains poured down since that shower was still there. The sun was obscure once more.
Anyway, for most people out there, in the centre of the track, the eclipse was a big disappointment. Clouds and rain.