“I’m 89 and flew 5,000 miles to see Taylor Swift in Paris. I treated myself to a $2K per night hotel and it was worth every penny.

I’m 89 and flew 5,000 miles to see Taylor Swift in Paris. I treated myself to a $2K per night hotel and it was worth every penny.

Nancy Strong, 89, has been a Taylor Swift fan for almost 15 years.
She traveled from Dallas to Paris to see the Eras show after buying a ticket for €190 ($205.)
The great-grandmother said the concert was one of the most exciting nights of her life.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nancy Strong. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My granddaughter, Jennifer, and I were visiting my brother in New York when tickets for the second leg of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour were released in Europe last fall.

It was the middle of the night because of the time difference. But we hit the internet the second they became available. “We’ve got to make this happen,” Jennifer said as we joined the virtual ticket line.

I stayed up for as long as possible before giving up and going to bed. Then, around 3 a.m., Jennifer burst into my room, threw on the lights, and yelled, “Grammy, Grammy — I got the tickets!”

Of course, I jumped out of bed screaming like crazy. It was stupid fun. We jumped up and down. We were going to Paris to see Taylor on May 9, 2024.

I’ve been a Swiftie since September 2009, when I watched the MTV Music Video Awards show at my home in Dallas.

Unfortunately, it was the infamous night that Kanye West jumped onstage, grabbed the microphone, and interrupted her acceptance speech.

At first, I was confused, thinking it was some kind of stunt. Then I realized it wasn’t. “How could he do that to that young, vulnerable, sweet girl? ” I thought.

I felt a connection to Taylor Swift

My last name is Strong, and I live up to it. I don’t like to see people bullied, and I admired how Taylor handled the situation.

The incident triggered my interest. I discovered she’d been born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania. My husband, Asa, 93, and I lived in Reading during the 1960s — when our five sons were born — so I was very attached to the town.

It was a connection. The more I read about Taylor, the more I liked her. I was impressed that her parents were involved in her career, and she was all about family.

I’ve been blessed with 12 grandchildren, six of them girls. They told me how much they felt inspired by Taylor and related to her as a successful young woman.

rn and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania. My husband, Asa, 93, and I lived in Reading during the 1960s — when our five sons were born — so I was very attached to the town.

It was a connection. The more I read about Taylor, the more I liked her. I was impressed that her parents were involved in her career, and she was all about family.