Sorting through some pictures last night, I came across this one, which is a favorite of mine.

On a truly hot August day in Paris (in 1976), even the candles in Notre Dame Cathedral were melting.

This was my first trip to Europe. When Jim, my husband, returned home after our two-week sojourn in London, I took a train to Paris to meet my friend Marie. Paris was our starting point for a month-long jaunt to five countries. We had Eurail passes, a teensy bit of money and lots of energy. We had not bargained for a heat wave and the hottest August in many, many years.

At the time, I was pursuing a masters degree in painting at American University (Washington, DC), and I came to Paris to see the art. And I did, by walking through through the collections in the Louvre, diligently checking off the "masterpieces." Fortunately, I recognized that by focusing on the "count," I was missing the paintings. After that, the art history book stayed in my suitcase and I began to see the art works. It was fabulous. After five years of art history classes, the paintings came to life—off the page.

Is that really 36 years ago? Seems like yesterday, and I can still see those wonderful paintings.

Isn't it wonderful the way snapshots and photos can send you zooming back through time?