It figures.

I finally meet a man and he's married. I was sitting in my
neighborhood cafe, finishing my wine from lunch, and "Frank" sat next
to me to have an espresso. We started chatting - he was in town from
England (though is originally from Paris) because his Mom had just
passed away. He was sad, and regretful about not being there, and
just down in general. We talked about his wife and 3 year old little
girl, my trip, my move, his work, etc.

He accompanied me on my sight-seeing for the next hour and a half or
so. Which I'm sure was fairly boring for him, but he seemed sad and
lonely and I think it helped him take his mind off things for a bit.
We went first to La Conciergerie, which was where people were
imprisoned and guillotined back in pre-revolution French days (and
post as well). This included King Louis XVI and shortly after, his
wife Marie-Antoinette. Strangely enough, today is the anniversary of
her beheading (which I actually wouldn't have noticed if Frank hadn't
pointed it out, as I seem to have no concept of the date right now).

Then we headed to the Memorial de la Deportation - a site honoring the
French who were rounded up by the Nazis and hauled off to
concentration camps. You descend down a staircase into a white walled
chamber containing several rooms, including one long area that has
200,000 small lighted crystals on the wall to commemorate the French
citizens who died. Above the door as you leave, it reads in French
"Forgive, but never forget".

Then we walked towards the Place Des Voges, a large lovely park, but
first stopped for a short beer at a Scottish pub. More talk about
life, family, etc. Standing out in the brisk air, we said goodbyes.
Frank had to go take care of some things. He wanted my phone number
and hoped we could go out for dinner or wine later, as I was so
comfortable and easy to talk to, and he said he thought that would
feel better than trying to get through a family dinner without his
Mom. I politely declined - while I think he was sincere, it just
didn't seem appropriate, regardless of the circumstances. During the
day sightseeing, etc seems like one thing, but dinner or drinks at
night another. I feel a little bad, as he apologized a couple of
times for asking and I think he just wanted a friendly ear, but you
never can tell.

Ok, I'm freezing my butt off in the wind on this park bench writing,
so I'm going to sign off for now!

Love,
L