Hi. You can see a list of past and predicted solar eclipses for this decade here:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa...at/SEdecade2001.htmllower down on the page are links to lists for other decades.
It is never good to stare at the sun without protection, except during the total phase of a total solar eclipse.
During totality you can see the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona. There are pictures at the top of the web page I just listed.
The corona is very beautiful and also scientifically interesting. Scientists go to total eclipse sites to test out instruments designed to observe the corona.
cheers,
Terry