Read Lynda Bulimo's Impressions

By Lynda Bulimo
Age: 13
September 22 2007
France. France. France.
Here is my story about my short but sweet holiday.
It was the second last week of the summer holiday.
Every time I used the computer my parents told me to check flights
to France. I was thinking, “What’s the point, we aren’t going
anywhere”
I couldn’t have been more wrong-footed. My parents decided to
drive to France. I wasn’t so sure about driving, but on the positive
side, it was going to be an adventure…
Tuesday 28 th August.
Early morning.
My mood wasn’t great.
We loaded the car and off we went.
The Port of Dover.
Ferries.
Not the usual way of Bulimo family travel.
I remember saying to my sister, Sasha “This is scary isn’t it?”
But it was scary in an exciting way.
Going to France by ferry was a great experience. The ferry was like
a massive hotel, floating on water basically. My favourite part was
the top deck and the warm seating areas. I loved the way you can
just feel at home without having to be worried. I looked outside the
window down into the water and I was thinking to myself, “How do
people swim across the Channel?” Honestly, the only people I can
ask are those who have swum…
The Port of Dunkerque to Paris
This was a long journey.
Did we get lost? Getting lost was a very common thing for us.
However, I knew God was leading us in the right direction.

Paris
We reached our hotel in Paris in the early evening. I stepped
outside the car, the atmosphere warm and breezy. We were all wornout.
Therefore, it was an early night for us to rest our souls and wait
for what God had in plan for us the next day.
London versus Paris:
There’s no difference to be honest.
In Paris, there is an underground system just like London.
Their’s is called the “Metro”.
Metro Sign
Well you’ve guessed it; we did use the Metro to explore Paris.
It felt good exploring the big town just the four of us.
It’s the best way to discover the most out of a holiday.
We arrived to the centre of the most romantic city in the world.
It was beautiful.
And the first thing I set my eyes on was legendary Eiffel Tower

Amazing Eiffel Tower
This is a truly amazing landmark.
I fell in love with it straight away.
We queued outside to have a chance to go inside the tower.
It was definitely worth the wait. We paid to go right to the top. Oh my
god, it was an incredible experience. The views were so spectacular,
especially from the top as the picture below shows:

It was a day worth remembering.
Do you recognise this landmark?
Yes, don’t we all.
However, barely any of us know the name of the landmark.
It’s called the Arc de Tromphe, a tribute to the war dead.
Stunning isn’t it?
(Thanks to my excellent photography skills!)
Image by Lynda Bulimo
I took this image from the top of the Champs Élysées. The way it is
spelt, is not the way it is pronounced. (Chonsay Lizzay) That is
the best way I can write it for you to pronounce.
The Champs Élysées is the Oxford Street of Paris. It is so busy, and
flooded with tourists. Shops are mainly designer and costly.
However, they have some fine things.
We wanted to get closer to the Arc de Trompe but because we were
all exhausted, we decided to hop onto a bus. We didn’t really know
which bus to take, so I approached a couple of girls at the bus stop
for help.
“Excuse moi, s’il vous plait?” (This means “Excuse me, please?”)
“Oui?!” (“Yes?!”)
Then, I lost the French, and said “Do you know where the Arc de
Triomphe is?”

“Ooh la la?! Sorry, I don’t know. Err ask the bus driver when the bus comes.”
“Ok merci!” (Ok, thank you!)
That was how the little conversation went. My first shot at speaking
French didn’t really succeed but I tried.
Next day we planned to drive to the south of Paris. We ended up in
the small, historical town of Auxerre. Before we reached Auxerre,
we stopped at Fountain Bleu, another historic town with a huge
chateau. Auxerre is 200km south of Paris. It is a lovely town. It’s
very historical though, which makes it slightly boring for people like
me. We stopped in a small café, to have tea. It’s was so cute. Me and
Sasha had really nice Ice-cream (I couldn’t resist taking the picture
below). There were many different shops along the high street, which
were more affordable which was great. I got cute hair accessories,
you can barely find in England.
Image by Lynda Bulimo
In between, we just drove around Paris to discover this great city
with our naked eyes. Finally, it was time to leave Paris. On our way
out, we drove to Belgium! I couldn’t believe how near it was to
Dunkerque. Belgium, is famous for it’s chocolate. We didn’t get a
chance to try any but me and Sasha had ice-cream once again. And
it was better tasting than the French ice-cream. The picture below
shows my mum, Jacqui, me and Sasha on the left in Bruges town
square. It was taken by my dad, Shad Bulimo.

(On the right is me)
The Bulimo Girlies Posing
The time came to leave Belgium and head for the Port of Dunkerque.
It was the end of a lovely trip.
Lasting Impressions
The French are friendly and polite.
Someone is always willing to help if you are lost.
There is a good variety of restaurants.
Some shops have good quality products.
This list can go on and on...
Thanks to my parents and God for giving me the chance to visit
France. I would highly recommend a trip to France.
Fantastic, Fabulous France. ☺