Paris—city of light! capital of romance! home to epicures and bon vivants!—has always been, for me, something of a lonely city. I’ve visited several times before, and though I wasn’t always solo (one trip was with my family, another was to visit the woman who would eventually become my wife), I would end up pacing the streets by myself for hours, unsure of what to do and where to go and how to find someone, anyone, to connect with.