the first time

Everybody remembers their first time. I'm not writing about that first time. I'm writing about my first time in Paris. It was the winter of 1998. I remember getting a week off at Christmas. I decided to spend Christmas with family in London. Family members encouraged me to take a couple of days of that trip and head over to Pairs on Eurostar. It takes 3 hours. I remember getting out of my aunt's house at 7 am on a cold, wet and dark wintry London morning; took a bus and the underground to Waterloo train station. Aunt Mary lives in North London. First class on Eurostar is a fantastic experience. During mealtimes, there's a waiter who waits on you and you get proper cutlery. It's very pleasant. I've been on second class since then. You pack a lunch or you buy something from the dining car. Before I embarked on that trip I bought a stack of this Christmas card to send to friends. At the back it read, "The raven" by Monet; courtesy of Musee d'orsay, Paris. I knew I would be near this museum in Paris. I remember rushing over in the late afternoon on my last day. I searched all over the museum for that painting but couldn't find it. Finally I asked for help and found it on the first floor. I still remember that sense of marvel. A few weeks before, the decision being made at a Barnes & Noble to see this painting live and there I was standing in front of it in Paris.......