Chapter 1: The plane

Tom Anderson was 8. He lived in New York. He was going on a trip to Paris with his parents for the week. He had been looking forward to this trip all week.

On the airplane Tom ate breakfast. He ate eggs and waffles. He also read.

“When will we be there?” Tom asked. “Ten minutes.” answered his mom. Tom felt excited because the plane ride had been boring. Ten minutes felt like a whole hour. He waited, and waited, and waited for the plane to land.

The engine of the plane made a lot of noise. It sounded like a volcano was erupting. Everyone on the plane covered their ears. When the plane finally landed, Tom was very excited to be at Paris.

Chapter 2  Paris

Tom’s hotel number was level 5 room 35-36.  Tom helped his parents unpack all of the family’s clothes, water, toys, and toothbrushes. After that, they went to the Eiffel Tower and they ate dinner there. Tom was excited to see the Eiffel Tower because he’d never been there before. Tom liked seeing all the buildings from the top. He learned that there were 1,710 steps in the Eiffel Tower. They ate fish and octopus, and for dessert they had fruit cake with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Tom liked the food because he had never tasted any of it before. After they ate, they went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and they looked through the telescope there. They could see all of the buildings more clearly. They saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacre Corre. Then they went to the ice cream shop, and got three ice cream cones: one chocolate, one vanilla, and finally one strawberry ice cream cone. Tom liked the day, and he felt excited for the next day, because he hadn’t been able to spend the whole day in Paris because they were on the plane.

Then Tom went to sleep. On the next day, Tom woke up, stretched, changed, and brushed his teeth. Then he went to eat breakfast. He ordered croissants, eggs, oranges, and orange juice. He liked it. After breakfast, he watched TV. He watched Wimbledon. He liked Djokovic. He also liked to play tennis. He was having fun but did not know what was waiting ahead of him…

Chapter 3: The Obstacles

After he ate breakfast, he and his parents went for a walk in the woods. When they were almost through the woods, they saw a poisonous tarantula. The tarantula was one inch away from Tom. The tarantula was black with red eyes, like a zombie. Tom felt his body tingling. Then, Tom jumped because he was scared. They ran out of the forest and went all the way back home. The family checked if Tom got hurt or poisoned, but he was okay. That night Tom felt a little bit scared and he had nightmares about poisonous tarantulas eating him. He was starting to think that the trip was not going to be fun because of the tarantula. He talked to his parents about his nightmares but his parents said that it was only a dream so he’d be fine. Tom felt better.

Then, the next day they went out for a walk but they didn’t go in the forest. Tom’s parents were still feeling a little bit scared after seeing the tarantula, because they were terrified of spiders. They walked down the street, feeling a little bit better because they knew there were no spiders on the street. There were a lot of people out, but the street was quiet. It was very hot and sunny outside.

When they were coming back, they saw a robber. He was wearing a black mask, and he was holding a bag full of money. He asked them if they had any money. They said no. But, the robber said that he had to check. He looked in their pockets and in their wallet. He found $20. He took their money and he ran away. Tom felt the same way he had when he saw the tarantula. When the robber was leaving, Tom’s family took a picture of him. Then, after he left, they dialed 9-1-1. The police caught the robber and then he went to jail. The police returned the family’s money and the bank’s money. He felt happy because they got their money back.

 Chapter 4: Fun

The next day, Tom and his family went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. They took a picture of it, and it was very crowded. It was exciting because it was a very famous painting. Tom was feeling a little bit better because nothing bad had happened so far. After they went, they went to the gift shop. They bought coasters of the Louvre. Tom’s favorite painting was of lilypads and was by Claude Monet. So, later that day they went to Claude Monet’s house. They went on his bridge and they saw the lily pads from the painting. Tom didn’t want to leave to go back to the hotel because he liked being there and he felt relaxed. Tom also saw Claude Monet’s bed. It was old with red covers. It was different from his bed because it was smaller and an older style.

When he got back to his hotel, it started raining. They had been planning to go to the Arc de Triomphe,  but they couldn’t then. Tom felt sad and like he wasn’t having fun because he was remembering the tarantula. Even though he didn’t say that, his parents could tell from the expression on his face. He was looking at the floor sadly. His parents asked him what was wrong. Tom said this tarantula was still bothering him. His parents said that the tarantula wasn’t there anymore, and that he shouldn’t worry about it. That made Tom feel a little bit better.

In the hotel they all had the idea to play Monopoly and Tom had fun playing, but he would have prefered to be at the Arc. Everyone was trying to have fun and be happy but they were still feeling sort of upset. After it stopped raining, it was 2:45 PM and Tom and his family went to the Arc D’ Triomphe. They climbed all the way to the top, it was 284 steps. At the top, Tom saw the Eiffel Tower. Tom felt tired. He was getting a little bit homesick because he had been away for five days then, which was a long time. Inside the Arc, they went and got snacks. They went back to the hotel,  then they had dinner at the hotel. It was good. Tom had salmon and chicken soup. Afterwards, Tom was not feeling tired anymore. Tom wanted to go back outside again. After Tom went outside he went to bed. He was thinking about home and about his room. He wants to be home because he was feeling homesick.

Chapter 5: Going Home

The next day, they packed up their stuff and then they went in the orange taxi. They didn’t do anything interesting in the airport, they just waited. Tom felt bored, but he felt that he had liked the trip. When they got on the plane, they ate eggs, bacon, and yogurt for breakfast. It was good, and it was especially good for plane food. When they got home, Tom ran all over the place, smiling. Then they ate lunch because the plane ride to New York was eight hours and five minutes. They ate popcorn and watched the Penguins of Madagascar movie. Tom felt bittersweet; he was sad to leave Paris but happy to be home.                                             

 Chapter 6: the end               

      THE END !