7/25/07

REcount of trip to England

Recount of trip to England

Amanda, Jasmine and Gladys were very excited as they would be going to England for three days and it was wintertime. They would be staying at Gladys' aunt's terrace house and her aunt would take them shopping and sightseeing for a total of three days!
On the day of their departure, they were so excited that they could not tie up their shoelaces! Even though Gladys had been to England to visit her aunt several times before, this might be her first encounter with snow! It would also be Amanda and Jasmine's first time on an aeroplane and all by themselves without their parents around too! They were led to the 'Raffles Class' section on the plane where a gentle-looking stewardess brought them some cushions and covers to ensure they were sitting comfortably. "Wow," Gladys thought drowsily, England, here we come!"
Gladys' aunt, Aunt Marie, met them at the airport in England. She had a pleasant smile on her face and greeted them warmly. A huge limousine waiting patiently at the car park was their means of transport back to the terrace house. It had been a long and tiring trip from Singapore to England and the time zones were all different. The trio was so tired that they were asleep within three shakes of a tail.

The very next morning, the girls were refreshed and full of energy. They ate a healthy and delicious breakfast of toast and eggs with runny yolk before Aunt Maria took them out. It had starting snowing since the week before they arrived and the lakes were all frozen stiff, ready to be skid on. The trio had practiced skiing before in ice rinks. They were glad to see the frozen waters. They fetched their skis and ran out of the house to the lake opposite it. Soon, they were shrieking happily, with smiles plastered on their faces.Seeing what fun they were having, Aunt Marie decided to join them.

Suddenly, a cold white-coloured thing hit Jasmine right on her face. It was snow! Gladys and Amanda shrieked with laughter and Jasmine declared, "This is war!" She gathered and handful of snow and flung it at Amanda. Amanda did not pause to counter-attack. Immediately, a series of seemingly hailstones rained on Jasmine's head. Soon, Gladys joined in the fun and the three girls threw snowballs at each other and made a gigantic snowman, which they named ‘Frosty the Snowman’! As it was nearing lunch lunchtime, Aunt Marie returned to the house to whip up a delicious lunch for the girls.

As the girls were playing joyfully, Aunt Marie appeared from the kitchen to inform them that lunch was hot and ready for them. The dripping and happy trio trooped into the kitchen, to find huge mugs of hot chocolate and freshly roasted chicken with green peas. As they set their eyes upon the delicious feast, their mouths started to water and they started devouring it.” Don’t gobble, you’ll choke!”Aunt Marie calmed the girls, smiling affectionately at them.

“After lunch, I’m going to bring you to the River Thames, “ Aunt Marie announced. She then smiled and waited for their response. After a moment of hushed silence, Amanda whooped with joy and the others followed suit. “All of you will want to bring your skies along! After all you may get a chance to ski on River Thames, or rather Ice Thames!” Aunt Marie finished. The girls could hardly believe their ears as they heard the delightful news. All they could do was to thank Aunt Marie repeatedly.

They had a wonderful afternoon at The Thames – they had so much fun; they had completely forgotten about the time! In fact, they were in the middle of their eighth snowball fight when Aunt Marie reminded them that it was time to go. They stopped at a Western Food store on their way back where they had a plate of fish and chips each.

As night fell, the trio and Aunt Marie sighed contently as they made their way home. As they reached their lodging, Jasmine said dreamily,’’ this is the best day I’ve ever had!’’ The others nodded in silent agreement. They headed for their rooms and fell asleep as soon as their heads touched their pillows, snoring peacefully.


As morning arrived, the pale sunlight was spilt across the girls’ room. The girls awoke from their slumber, rubbing their eyes sleepily and yawning. “I wish I hadn’t skied so much yesterday!” Gladys groaned ruefully, massaging her aching muscles. They marched into the kitchen, where Aunt Marie announced ,“I have planned the activities for today. I’ m taking you to the shopping mall to shop after breakfast!” The girls perked up immediately. Hurriedly, they finished their breakfasts and set off with Aunt Marie in her blue limousine.

First they visited Harrods , a brand famous for teddies and big shopping bags, where Gladys fell in love with a gigantic bear. It was soft and cuddly, and nice to feel. Aunt Marie gave her the permission to buy it. Then, Aunt Marie bought six adorable mini-sized bears, two for each of the girls. They were so pleased and they hugged Aunt Marie happily. As lunch time arrived, Aunt Marie treated the girls to a posh French restaurant, where they ordered lots and lots of French food. Even Amanda, who was a very picky eater, declared it was the best meal she ever had. After everybody was full, they went round the shops to buy souvenirs like bookmarks, pens, books, toys and even a few bottles of wine to give away to their respective family members and friends. They had a great time selecting the gifts. Then, Aunt Marie brought them to visit Big Ben, the most famous clock in the whole world. The girls stared in awe at it, admiring the skilful carvings and engravings on it. After sightseeing, they went home for dinner, and soon snuggled cosily in their beds.

The next day was the last day of their visit, as usual, they ate their breakfasts cheerfully, and then decided to make an igloo and snow angels. They pulled on their coats and hurried outside to attempt making an igloo. Their first attempt was a huge failure! They could not manage to get the snow to pack tightly together and therefore, it kept sliding apart. The girls were very disappointed . Still, they cheered up as the snow angels were a great success .The girls collected stones and sticks to decorate their snow angels. When Aunt Marie came out to tell them that lunch
would be ready in two hours time, Gladys asked her to name the snow angels. They had a great time laughing at the funny and silly names that they gave to the snow angels. After Aunt Marie went back in, they began tobogganing and skied on the ice. They were determined to play as much as they could before leaving England.

They panted heavily when they came in, exhausted from their morning activities. As they sat down to enjoy the delicious spread of food prepared by Aunt Marie for them, Aunt Marie presented them with a purple silken bag. Curious, Amanda peeped inside the bag. She was surprised to find that the bag was filled with a variety of candies and a small teddy with their names embroidered on it. Aunt Marie smiled. ‘‘It’s just a small gift for you.’’ She smiled generously. The girls were surprised and pleased; and they chorused, ‘‘thank you’’.
After lunch, aunt Marie brought them to the airport in time to catch the flight back to Singapore. ‘‘Goodbye!’’ They bade a cheerful farewell to Aunt Marie. Aunt Marie waved to them and replied, ‘‘Hope that I’ll see you all soon. Have a safe journey!’’

Soon, they were on the aeroplane back home, back to their island home, Singapore!

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