Taylor Swift in Lyon: Trip Report!

taylor swift in lyon

Taylor Swift in Lyon was amazing. If you can go to one of the remaining ERAS tour dates — go!! Undoubtedly one of the best musical experiences of my life.

I bought my ticket last summer for a ridiculous €140. Do I regret not buying a ticket for a friend? I do. I got the message to hop online and scoop up my ticket at 9 AM Paris time, and just couldn’t get anyone back home on the phone to give me the thumbs up (and Venmo me the cash), so I only bought a single ticket. Who cares, honestly, as a travel writer I’ve done a zillion amazing things on my own (or next to other travel writers) and it’s fine.

Because I was going straight from school to the show, I had to pack extremely light — this is everything that made it into my bag except for two prescription drugs, which I stowed in my pocket. I have traveled light before, but this is exceptional. As it turned out there were plenty of bagages consignés around the stadium in Lyon, but I didn’t want to take the risk. This was, by the way, the longest I’ve been apart from my laptop since my last one was stolen out of my apartment. I stayed at Meininger’s, which was fine, though definitely not worth the €200(!!) I paid, with prices elevated far beyond normal due to the concert. (Its normal price is closer to >€70, which is very fair — it’s cheerful and cute.) I saw nothing else in Lyon except a corner store where I bought everything that looked like I could eat it. (It was after midnight and I was glad to see anything open at all.)

The highlight was probably the surprise songs: a mash-up of “Glitch!” x “Everything Has Changed” and “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” — both live premieres! This is my video of the latter below and I loved it.

You know, I spent the whole way home from Lyon thinking about what I would say in my trip report, and I did have lots to say: about how inspiring it was, as a female artist, to see such a grandly plotted spectacle, such a total and amazing piece of performance. It’s inspiring! Not just because I love the music, which I do, but because every element in the show seemed so incredibly thoughtful, from the costume changes to the set pieces to the animations to the stage environment (I have no idea what the technical terms are for any of those things). Writing books sort of operates like that, but it also sort of doesn’t — you make up a huge world, but it only exists (until the Netflix series!!!) in your head. This happens in the real world. I think the best analogy for books is to think not just of the text but the book itself: the paper, the cover, etc. A lot to think about there. Seeing Taylor Swift in Lyon will be one of the highlights of my year.

I have a video of Champagne Problems and the Glitch! mash-up, but those uploads need to wait for my internet to be fixed on Wednesday. For the moment, a few more photos. Here’s a take on why I like TTPD so much — I wrote it when much of the early word was negative. If anything, I love it even more now — I truly feel like it’s her first properly adult-adult album. Obsessed.

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