A Paris Excursion

A Paris Excursion

Use these five words in your story - Writer's Cramp entry
GRAPEFRUIT FRANCE MONA LISA KITE POOR

Joanne had waited all her life to visit France. Ever since she was a child in school she had been enthralled with the country, its history and especially the Louvre where the most famous painting in the world hung. The Mona Lisa.

Now she just had one precious week of her well earned holidays to see everything she wanted to see. She was in a hurry so upon landing at the Paris airport she grabbed the first available taxi. "Take me to the Louvis." She said in her broken French. She was confident her three days of French immersion studies would serve her well.

"Oh! Vous voulez voil l'escroquerie!" said the taxi driver. "Yes," said Joanne. It sounded right to her. Off they went. She could hardly contain her excitement.

The taxi driver let her off at the front door of a museum. It did not look like the Louvre she had seen in so many pictures in America. She went in and there in the front entrance she saw what she had waited for all her life. She was finally gazing at the world famous Mona Lisa.

She stood and admired the great painting for a long time. This is very strange thought Joanne. I never noticed the grapefruit tree with a kite stuck in the branches before.

Joanne spent the remainder of her week ogling Paris and its history but the Mona Lisa remained in her mind and she could not understand why the pictures in America were so different than the real portrait.

The following week she went back to work with a feeling of great disappointment. Her French Canadian boss could not help but notice her sad expression.

"Did you not enjoy your visit to Paris, Joanne?" he asked. "Well, yes, but I was so disappointed in the Louvis."

"You went to the Louvis?" asked her boss in great surprise. "No wonder you were disappointed. The Louvis is a rip-off of the Louvre . Didn't your taxi driver tell you the difference?"

Poor Joanne, maybe he did.


Word count: 350