Me walking, birds singing

Early this morning, I walked to the food market on the Avenue de Saxe (Thursdays and Saturdays).  Once again, it was so early that most of the vendors were still unloading and arranging their produce and other food in their booths.  Only a few were mostly set up, even though it was 7:30AM and the published opening time for these markets is 7AM.

Walking there then is fun, because there is activity to see, yet the market is not yet crowded.  By 8AM I am certain that all the vendors will be ready to sell, but by that time, the city will be hot.  Very hot.  We have three more days of this heat wave!

Some people think that the Avenue de Saxe market is especially prestigious, compared to all the many other neighborhood food markets in the city.  I don't think it is all that different from the others; however, the shoppers in the 7th arrondissement are probably more affluent than the average Parisian.

What I like about the Avenue de Saxe market is the nearby neighborhood anchored by the Place Georges Mulot.  It sure looks like the 7th arrondissement, but it is actually a part of the 15th.  If we were ever to buy an apartment in Paris, it would ideally be within a stone's throw of the Place Georges Mulot.

Place Georges Mulot, in the 15th arrondissement.

All the Haussmannian apartment buildings in this quarter were built around the same time, in the years after a slaughterhouse was demolished on that site.  The buildings are handsome, and so are the boulevards nearby -- the Avenue de Breteuil being the grandest of them all, with its fountain and the gleaming dome of the St. Louis Church at Les Invalides at either end.

The neighborhoods in between this one with Place Georges Mulot and the one where we stay are modest.  They include what I call "old village-y buildings" that date back to a time when this area was outside of Paris, and included the villages of Vaugirard and Grenelle.  These are much older than the late 19th century Haussmannian buildings.

Mixed in with the charming old village-y buildings are newer buildings, some of which are not so beautiful.  But there is one huge, curving apartment building built in the 1970s or so, which has green area around it.  While this structure is a monstrosity, it clearly is loved by its residents, who all seem to treasure the balconies that grace each apartment.  Because of the trees and greenery around this building, birds live there in abundance.  It is delightful to walk by there in the early morning to hear them singing.

I was surprised to see a new flower garden planted in a space next to the Bricolage hardware store nearby.  It must be a neighborhood project.  These kinds of gardens are springing up all over Paris; the City is encouraging residents to create them in whatever space they can find.

Neighborhood garden near Bricolage hardware store.

In one area that had no greenspace in the 7th, I noticed that the neighbors had terracotta-like tall pots made to go over and around several of the metal bollards on their sidewalks.  Then they filled the pots with dirt and planted flowers.  Cool.