I decided that I needed a calmer weekend after several weeks of back to back travel, so I went for a weekend at home. Well, mostly at home. Saturday was full of errands and the Basel Christmas market (tried the fondue in a baguette) and Sunday was a trip to Zürich.
This wasn’t just any trip to Zürich, though. I was in town to watch Miss Saigon. It’s one of my favorite musicals. I was almost crushed to know that I was missing the show’s stop through San Francisco, but then I found out that it was going to be in Zürich. In case you care at all, I just re-did my top 10 list for musicals and I’m watching number one on my list as I write.
In any case, I left a little early to explore Zürich, which I realize I have not actually spent any time in since getting here (airport trips don’t count). I had no plan in mind, really, and had just enough time to explore the city a little and maybe grab a quick lunch somewhere. There were small Christmas stalls everywhere (as one days), so I ended up getting hot mead right outside of the Münster and hanging out there for a little while.
I walked along the street until I hit the one of the bigger markets in front of the opera house. This one was very food-centric and there were a lot of international food stands. I even saw a ramen stand that I would have considered eating at had I not seen the most beautiful two street tacos I’ve seen in a while.
I didn’t actually have much time left before I had to head to the theater, so I walked along Lake Zürich for a little before jumping on the trams to the theater.
I made it to the theater with some time to spare, which gave me enough time to find the merch table and my seat (which was pretty good, I must say). The show was fantastic. Horribly sad and emotionally draining, but fantastic. The sets were incredible (the helicopter flew!!!). One minor downside was that the people sitting next time me who were talking, giggling and checking Instagram during one of the most powerful scenes of the musical. For those of you who haven’t seen this musical or listened to the cast recording hundreds of times like I have, the first act closes with the main character singing to her young son about how she’d give her life if that meant that her son could have the life that she wants for him to the backdrop of refugees boarding a boat to escape the country. Milennials, amirite? Otherwise, the show was perfect, but I was missing my theater-going crew from back home.
By the time I was out of the musical, it had started raining, which killed my plan of walking around the city a little before leaving. The show kind of exhausts you anyway, so I decided to just walk around the big Christmas market at the train station for a little bit. Between the intense crowds and the killer headache I developed right before the show started, I very quickly decided it was better to get onto an earlier train and make soup for dinner instead.
So, that was my day in Zürich. I’ll be back there, though. At the very least, Chris and I need to make it to the FIFA museum. Which, by the way, is my other announcement. Now that they’ve announced the group stage dates, Chris and I got tickets to see the USWNT in the World Cup in Paris next year. I’m super stoked about it. Talk about bucket list.
Anyway, that’s it for my short post.
Alea Around the World 
I love musicals. I heard of Miss Saigon, but never seen it.
Some of my favorite musicals: Les Mis, Wicked, Sound of Music, Annie, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and Music Man, etc.
I already finished my 2018 musicals- now the question becomes what will I see in 2019. Tours are what I rely on.
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Yeah, got to love those tours! What’s on the docket for 2019?
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For Charlotte- the ones I do know are coming are “Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief”, “Miss Saigon”, “Dear Evan Hansen”, “Cats”, “Hello Dolly”, “Band’s Visit”, “Aladdin”, and “Les Mis”. I know there are a few others- just don’t know which ones they are at the moment
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Dear Evan Hansen is going to be my last musical of 2018. I’m pretty stoked.
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Next yr- my top musicals I want to are Aladdin and Les Mis. Those are the basically the main ones I want to see.
Here’s the crazy thing about Les Mis- it was in Charlotte last year. I choose Greenville over Charlotte. I was forced to pick between seeing it in Greenville with my university or seeing it in my hometown with family. I ended up choosing seeing it in Greenville. So now, I want to know what it is like to see it on tour in my hometown. I am what you would call obsessed with Les Mis.
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It’s an amazing musical, so I don’t blame you
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Les Mis- this might sound crazy- but I saw that musical in person 5 times in a limited amount of time. It all is a timing thing. 2013, 2015, and 2017 are the years I saw that musical in person. So basically every other year.
2013- I was a student at Central Piedmont Community College so I learned that they were doing a production of Les Mis plus I was approved to be an usher for the 2013-2014 school year. I became a true fan of Les Mis earlier that year, but had not yet seen the stage show so here was my chance. So in 2013, saw Les Mis 3x at CPCC- as a result of going once with my family and twice as an usher.
2015- The choir at my family church was in residence at Bristol Cathedral this summer. As a result, a pilgrimage was planned around it- which began in London. I dreamed of seeing Les Mis in London. Since my family and I were going up two days early, my mom took me to see Les Mis in the West End.
2017- The US Tour just happened to be launched this year. It was my first thought to see it in Charlotte- then at the beginning of the school year- I learned student activities was taking a group of students to see Les Mis in Greenville. I was stuck- I basically wanted to do both- I had to choose ONE- I went with Greenville with my university.
So 5 times in a limited amount of time
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