Solo ( although , not neccesarily ) Visitors to Paris

I travel solo, and I tend to eat rushed meals in Paris and just about everywhere else. Maybe food is your thing and you are visiting Paris specifically for the food? Then a two hour lunch makes sense for you. Not the case for me. I am generally tired by the evening and want to get back to the hotel and rest, not spend two hours by myself reading at a table alone. There are definitely times when I have extra time or am in a place where I truly savor the food (e.g. in Emilia-Romagna) where I might spend a little more time, but other times I'll grab fast food, food on the run, take-away food, or just do a rushed sit-down meal.

Eating alone is as much the norm in NYC as it is eating out with others. I got married in my mid 30s and when I didn't have plans on a weekend day or night in my single days, I took myself out to dinner and ate at my own pace -- not rushed at all. I'm glad it's not an oddity in Paris as it might be elsewhere.