the helić's take on paris

so it's been a while since i've updated and a lot has happened. needless to say i've been busy and notably stressed. either way, there have been some great happenings in baguette land and i would like to fill you in.

a little under two weeks ago, tarik came to visit me! though he has those fantastic flight benefits (that i poach and take advantage of), it's not super easy for him to travel overseas cause it's such a long trip. he had a couple weeks of vacation time in november and after much persuading, he decided to come to paris so i could show him around my hood. he was only here for 4 days as he had already made plans for a thanksgiving roadtrip with some friends which he could not cancel since he was the driver. however, who ever heard of going to wisconsin over paris? either way, we went to the louvre, the eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, notre dame, sacre coeur etc etc. since this was his birthday trip (he turned 22 Nov 16th) i also got him tickets to see death cab for cutie. that's right, in paris. i am the coolest sister ever. also, modest :)

...minus the fact that i was 4 hours late picking him up from the airport...

...lets overlook that small detail...

this is us at the louvre. i'm guiding with the reliable (and sarcastic) ricky steves, though that was a 2007 version and the louvre definitely moved some things around which threw me off a little, whar with my poor sense of direction. there is tarik showing some real appreciation for the impressive art at the renowned museum. we saw all the fun stuff like the mona lisa (i liked it better the second time around), the venus de milo, winged victory etc...

the weather wasn't the best while tarik was visiting, there was even snow which doesn't happen that often in france since it's so close to the ocean, but when we went to the eiffel tower there was sunshine and blue skies. though as we got higher and higher...it got pretty damn cold.

the left photo is one of my favorite photos of the eiffel tower i have ever taken and that's tarik looking out at the second floor. on the top right is the view we had from the sacre coeur (the highest point in paris) which turned out pretty cool. you can see all the people that are usually there and so much of paris just sprawled out in front of you. très cool.

when it got rainy and cold we hid out in the notre dame where is was warmer and had some coffee while sitting outside under a fantastic heater. of course we paid a small fortune for a couple of cups of coffee but i try and see it as time bought under protection and in warmth. totally worth it...

yep, that is nearly 10 euro. painful.

all in all, tarik coming to paris was lots of fun. i got to show him the ropes and my neck of the woods. he also brought me my shiny new camera, a nikon D200. saWEET! some friends came out as well which was great. we got to spend some time with ben, anne, stephanie and suzanne...talking cameras and music.

awkwardly, everyone thought that we were a couple since we were traveling together and we both have the goodlooking helic genes...this is nothing new, but still. slightly awkward when it's your sibling.

i left tarik on monday night which meant that he had to fend for himself in the morning to get to the airport. i insisted that he make sure to ask if he was taking the correct RER to the charles de gaulle airport but he did not. he later informed me that he took the wrong one and had to backtrack. men. never ask for directions. while i still think of tarik as my younger brother, this trip made me realize how grown up he is now and also how grown up i am. getting older year after year...ew.

more pictures here and here.