those were the days
That was a particularly pleasant, exciting, or noteworthy time.
Ah, those were the days. David Bowie, Status Quo, The Beatles ... no end of artists I could say I enjoyed in order to sound clever and pretentious. Ben Croshaw
The '20s ended in an era of extravagance, sort of like the one we're in now. There was a big crash, but then the country picked itself up again, and we had some great years. Those were the days when American believed in itself. I was happy and proud to be painting it. Norman Rockwell
Those were the days when there was a great deal of argument about that piece of international machinery known as the ‘ Atlantic Pact', which may have owed its name to the fact that between words and deeds there lies the breadth of an ocean. Giovannino Guareschi