A nine-hour flight that felt like 80,000, a suffocatingly small hotel room, and the utter betrayal of slow Wi-Fi. Fourteen-year-old Lilly is not having the Parisian adventure her parents, Elizabeth and Bob, promised. From the moment they touch down in France, the trip is a masterclass in middle-class travel disappointment.

Join us as Lilly navigates the cultural minefield of her family's ambitions. Listen in as Dad, in "The Intrepid Explorer" mode, attempts a seizure-like mime to get a taxi, Mom struggles to maintain a polite veneer in the face of a "Petite Chambre Familiale" the size of a walk-in closet, and Lilly grapples with the agonizing reality of being digitally banished with a tragic 0.5 Mbps Wi-Fi connection.

This week, we recount the saga of The Louvre Debacle (where the Mona Lisa is judged for not smiling), the Eiffel Tower Washout (where they pay to stand inside a cloud), and the Unfriendly Locals who confirm Lilly's hypothesis that Europeans are just too cool for them. Trapped in a tiny, slightly damp room with a snoring father and a suitcase privacy partition, Lilly starts a countdown to freedom. Paris isn't beautiful enough to forgive. Next stop: Spain.

Book Title: The Italian Kiss Short Story

Author: Warren M. Walker

Publisher: V & W Publishing

https://publishing.irishknights.co.za/the-italian-kiss-short-story/

Available on Amazon.com:

Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Italian-Kiss-Short-Story-By-Warren-Walker/dp/B0DCLJB73X

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Italian-Kiss-Short-Story-By-Warren-Walker/dp/B0FV1SR61M