New Year's Eve at the Pops

We decided to do something a bit different this year for New Year's Eve.  We were both kind of scarred by our night out at Brass Union experience last year and were hesitant to try another event like that.  When we were at the Pops for the Psycho event on Halloween we saw an ad for the Pops New Year's Eve event hosted by Seth McFarlane.  This seemed like a perfect fit for us so we bought our tickets and were joined by some of our good friends.

We started the evening with dinner and I was surprised how quickly I was able to pick a place.  (I tend to hem and haw over restaurant choices for special nights out.)  Estragon, a tapas bar in the South End, immediately popped in my head.   I feel like tapas is the way to go on New Year's Eve.  It's a meal you can either speed up or slow down and tapas places usually have great, funky decor and atmospheres. 

Estragon features a really lovely, old world European style bar along the back wall.  (I want to go back STAT and have a drink at that bar!)  There is lounge seating in the back featuring purple and red couches with a picture of Salvador Dali hanging on the wall.  The dining room features funky colors, striped tables, and a checked floor.  In typical fashion when JO and I go for tapas, we ordered way too much food.  Our waiter tried to warn us but we ignored his warnings.  Everything was delicious and they didn't rush us at all.

After dinner we headed over to Symphony Hall for the show.  It was so fun taking pictures with the beautiful hall as the backdrop.  It was fun to be dressed up (without needed to be super dressed up) and drinking bubbles! 

We splurged for tables on the floor.  I can't believe how crammed the tables were, it seemed like a fire hazard.  (I'm really big on knowing my emergency exits and escape routes.)   Despite being crowded I'm really glad we had the table.  It made maneuvering around so much easier and we had excellent views of the stage.

Seth McFarlane was excellent, and he's now my new celebrity boyfriend!  I had no idea what kind of singer he is.  It was really fun to be doing something on New Year's Eve instead of just sitting at a bar.   

I was a big fan of the balloon drop at midnight although my video is too long for the blog!  Enjoy this clip of the finale number instead!

2019 got off to a great start and maybe we'll be back to close out the year next December!