by Steffi Tan (P5 2021)

        Looking at the picture of me and my family in a photo frame, posing near the Eiffel Tower when we were in Paris, it reminded me about what an amazing and interesting holiday we had during our summer holidays in France.

       “Wow!” I exclaimed as my family and I stepped into Paris from the airport.

       My parents had brought my little sister, Jane, and me to a different country for a treat because we had done well in our studies. It was the summer holidays, and the sun was high in the sky with birds signing in the trees. I was feeling very relaxed. At once, my father called for a taxi to drive us all to the hotel to check in.

       After we finished checking in, we took another taxi to the Eiffel Tower.

       “We’re going to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower!” our father cheered while punching his fist in the air. I rolled my eyes while chuckling.

       While we were in the taxi heading for the Eiffel Tower, I took out the Paris Guidebook from my backpack. I learnt some interesting facts about Paris and read them aloud to Jane: “Paris is also called the ‘City of Lights’, and there is actually an underground city under Paris; Additionally, there are 47,000 trees in Paris — one tree for every four people!”

        Jane widened her eyes in amazement and exclaimed, “I didn’t know there were so many facts about Paris!”

        When we reached the Eiffel Tower, I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the three-hundred-and-twenty-four-meter building. The tour guide explained to us that There were six lifts in the Eiffel Tower, three that go up to the second floor, two that go up to the third floor, and the last one is a privet lift.

        “The lift goes directly to the restaurant at the first floor.”

        My jaw dropped. “What a lot of lifts!” I thought.

        We took our first flight of stairs instead. Finally, after what seemed like years, we reached the second floor. I had never climbed that many steps before.

        “Whoa! We climbed six hundred and seventy-four steps so far! That’s a lot! I exclaimed while wiping away my sweat.

        “Don’t congratulate yourself yet,” my father said. “We still have nine hundred and ninety-one steps left!”

        It was the evening, and the sun was setting. I climbed the steps one by one, admiring the amazing view. There were tall trees and green hills, just like how the guidebook had stated. The sun was setting behind a hill and it looked simply magical. I had never seen a sunset that beautiful before. My family were also staring at the view, at a loss for words. We reached the top of the Eiffel Tower where I could see buildings and tiny dots of people like ants walking around the busy streets of Paris. I could not believe that I had climbed one thousand, six hundred and sixty-five steps, all in one day!

        My mother found a table with the view of the sunset. When the food came, I saw that my parents had ordered a delicious dinner of steak tartare and onion soup. However, before that, we had an appetizer of cheese and crackers. We could choose the different types of cheese and sampled them along with crackers. For dessert, we ate a plate full of rainbow macarons.

        After eating a delicious meal, we took a taxi to a famous bakery, Le Petit Grain, to buy some croissants for the next day’s breakfast. The croissants filled our stomachs before we left Paris. I wished we could enjoy another restaurant dinner, but we would not have time to go to a proper restaurant before our flight home.

        At the hotel, I took a warm shower, changed into my cuddly pyjamas and snuggled in the soft bed.

        The next day, my dad woke us up early to leave for the airport. I was sad to leave such a lovely city. Time had flown by, but my parents promised to bring me back another time. I so look forward to coming back to Paris again.

Under Cognitus Academy’s writing programme, your child can write this well, too. Find out how your child can prepare for Continuous Writing in Paper 1 of PSLE English examinations today by clicking here.