I have a friend in Paris who invites me over often. She used to live in the 15th arrondissement until a couple of years ago when her growing family needed more space and they ended up in a lovely apartment near the Hippodrome d’Auteuil. She is literally on the border of Paris, but in a way the neighborhood couldn’t feel more quintessentially Paris. There is this fabulous neighborhoody feeling that I remember her area in the 15th had as well. As she passes by the boulangerie and the wine seller, she waves to both, as they have almost-weekly encounters, if not more frequent. Sure, she is particularly charismatic, but she also seems to have excellent taste in quartiers. Seeing her interact in her neighborhoods has made me appreciate them more. One evening as I was going to visit her, I hopped off the metro several stops before hers because I wanted to take in the 16th in the late summer light. I have noticed the beautiful ironwork around Paris and other French cities before, of course, but I was truly taken aback by the beauty of building after building with these beautiful ironwork balconies and infinite other details modern-day architects seem to leave out. Here’s the first in a series of what I enjoyed…