The Eras Tour Memories

Alice is our huge Swiftie. And we tried but failed to get Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets when she rolled through the USA last summer. And the secondary market ticket prices were absolutely ridiculous. $5,000 a ticket? Even the $2,000 was out of the question. So when she released dates for her European tour, it made sense to try for tickets. We had planned to go to Europe this summer for Leah's graduation trip and we knew we would spend less than $2000/ticket, even with the flights and hotel. 

It was a very stressful experience, but I got GREAT tickets in Milan for the three of us to last summer for less than $500/ticket. We just had to wait 12 months before the big night. 

We watched the Eras Tour movie on Disney, watched all the videos on social media from other fans at the concert. I studied the lyrics all year and ran on the treadmill so I was in fit for the 3.5 hour show. We picked out outfits and made 60 friendship bracelets to exchange at the show. We needed those 12 months to prepare. 

And, regardless of the anticipation and research, it was an AMAZING experience. I was still overwhelmed and emotional through the whole concert. I still can't talk about it without starting to cry. Seriously. I was blown away. 

So, instead of documenting the night with a 60,000 word essay of stream-of-consciousness emotional nonsense, I created a list of moments and things that summarize the night for me. Or skip the list and scroll down for the pictures.

• The moment, after the last year and the last day of preparing, when we came up the stairs and walked into the stadium and saw The Stage for the first time. I lost my breath. I teared up. "This is real" I kept saying to myself. "This is real. This is real. This is real." 
• The community of Swifties in homemade outfits, complimenting each other, trading friendship bracelets in every language. It was beautiful. All ages. All countries. All friends. 
• I nearly blacked out when Taylor took the stage. Seriously. I had to remind myself to breath. That I was there with my kids that I had to get home safely. Etc. 
• Meanwhile, I was holding Alice's hand and screaming and cheering and feeling everything. 
• Singing all these songs with 60,000 other fans. Every. Word. 
• The way Taylor connected to the crowd and talked to her fans. "For all the effort you went through to be here," she said. Gah. 
• The performance felt special, even though I know she's done it almost 100 times before with her dancers and the band. And we were all experience the same euphoria for being there.
• Chatting with the women from New York next to me with her boyfriend. They made a European trip out of the show and just got in from Rome. I gave her a few bracelets and she seemed really touched. And the women next to her that offered me glow-in-the-dark for "my girls" expecting nothing back. The teens behind me from Spain. 
• Walking to the Metro on the way there and being joined by an army of other Swift fans in sequence and cowboy boots and being so joyful and happy just being our best selves. (The way home was a little less fun as we waited in a packed crowd to get on the train for an hour .. but I'm quickly over it.) 
• Being with my girls and making this core memory with them. Nothing short of miraculous. I can't even think of a big enough word to describe it. 
• Walking around Milan the day before and after and seeing all the people in their Taylor Swift Eras Tour T-shirts, tote bags and asking "which night did you see?" etc. 
• It was like Disney World. I didn't go until I was 20. I had seen pictures and watched videos but nothing really prepares you for seeing that castle for the first time and it's so impactful and happy. 

The pictures: 

That first glimpse of the stage. I don't remember taking this picture but I know I did. 

All the merch. All the bracelets. I didn't know what to do. How to look. I had tears in my eyes behind those sunglasses. 

They went down to take pictures and trade bracelets. And noticed me taking pictures. 

Almost showtime. Squeeeeeal!

Do I remember this? No, I blacked out. But I snapped a photo. 

My favorite Era -- Reputation! They killed this.

Our view without the zoom. Look At All Those Fans!? Mindblowing. This is the acoustic set when her piano stopped working for a minute.

Take a bow, Queen Taylor. 3.5 hours?! Not long enough.

The End.