DETROIT PBS IL VOLO WINE AND DINE…A NIGHT TO REMEMBER…A FEAST FOR THE EYES ~ Jane
-
Jane and her Guys
The guys were on fire that night, but in a GOOD way! With their long trek to Detroit, jet lag was not seen nor heard from except around 11:00 PM when Ignazio started yawning. Even though Gianluca had a cold and was definitely not feeling 100% he pulled the night off in his usual charming style.
We arrived at the studio around 5PM and spent some time greeting and getting to know other Flight Crew members and Il VOLO lovers from other cities and states.
We first enjoyed a delicious Italian themed dinner and various wines to complement this. The next part of the evening was the Meet and Greet. Many guests brought gifts for the guys and something for them to autograph. All three were so warm and friendly as is their usual persona. Barbara was there and chatting with people as they were waiting their turn to see the stars of the night! Many photos were being snapped as guests thoroughly enjoyed their visit with the guys. One lucky young lady by the name of Emelia, is still probably walking on Cloud 9 after her dance with Piero! I’ll let someone else tell you about that special moment.
I knew we could bring one item for autographing and gifts, but had decided I wanted to spend every allotted second with them TALKING and getting HUGS. I had practiced over and over in my mind what I wanted to say so when the moment came I would be prepared! I was a little disappointed in that as soon as our table was brought into the Meet and Greet room the man running it said they were running behind and would have to hurry. I was determined to get my moment with each guy no matter what. As I stood there next in line Ignazio saw my name tag from a distance and started singing some Italian song interjecting my name, Mary Jane, with his award winning smile! I went up to Ignazio first and told him his performance at Eurovision was spectacular, to which he smiled, said thank you and gave me his warm embrace of a hug. I then told Piero his performance at Eurovision was stunning! He looked very happy with this statement, thanked me and gave me his million dollar hug. I then went to Gianluca and told him his winning soccer goal at the charity soccer game was beautiful. He looked surprised, smiled and said thank you. Of course, I got my hug from him too! My time was short, but I accomplished what I set out to do. I remember how each hug felt. I remember Ignazio and Piero were each wearing their wonderful colognes and Gianluca just smelled clean like soap. 🙂 The smile on my face and the glow in my heart remain even now, 7 days later!
The Meet and Greet was the prelude to our STUDIO EXPERIENCE! Here is where the guys REALLY PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS AND GAVE US A SHOW TO REMEMBER! We were ushered into our seats to enjoy the live broadcast. All 3 guys were right in front of us in their seats along with Laura, who would be interviewing them all evening. They all wanted to watch their own solo during the broadcast of the Pompeii concert. Each guy actually did go stand right in front of the TV monitor broadcasting the concert and watch their solo when it came on. They then proceeded to just be themselves all evening!
I think the station thought they had given us our dessert after our meal, but THIS WAS THE REAL DESSERT OF THE EVENING. Piero and Ignazio danced to Volare! Ignazio broke his chair as he sat down and handled it with his ever loving humor! Gianluca kept having the staff hand him Kleenex to help control his cold symptoms! They laughed, joked, poked and prodded each other in brotherly fashion! They came into the audience during breaks and interacted with many taking numerous selfies. Piero took two sweet little girls for a walk around the studio audience…tried to get them to do some stretch exercises with him saying after being on the plane 20 hours he needed to do this! They were so relaxed and appeared to be enjoying themselves as much as we were enjoying THEM!
There was so much going on between the volunteers taking the pledge calls, the actual concert being shown on a TV, the studio staff moving about directing people…at times I found myself looking at all of this INSTEAD OF FEASTING MY EYES ON WHAT WAS ACTUALLY RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF US...Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio!! It only took a millisecond to bring myself back into the moment and keep my eyes straight ahead on the three most handsome, talented, kind hearted, genuine young men on the planet!
We came back to our hotel and stayed up til the wee hours of the morning reliving the night…and oh, what a night it was!!
I know others will be writing their own memoir as well. It was truly A NIGHT TO REMEMBER…A FEAST FOR THE EYES!
Jane (maryjane)
♥♥♥♥♥
FROM MINNESOTA TO HEAVEN IN 1 1/2 HOURS ~ Mary B.
I love Minnesota (most of the year) but a week ago I was transported to heaven. I knew it was heaven, because I saw the angels…at least three of them. (that doesn’t count Marie, although we all know that she is one) I mean the Italian angels with whom God has blessed us. Being angels, they were able to fly from Italy to Detroit for just twenty four hours to give us a taste of heaven…..and give us a healthy portion they did. By the end of the evening we were positively sated with heavenly bliss. Our beautiful angels can give more in a few hours than most can give in a lifetime. How blessed I feel to be among the Ilvolovers that were gathered together in Detroit that night. We may not see them again for a while, but we took away enough blissful memories to tide us over until we do. God bless them in the travels ahead. We will hold them in our hearts and wait with anticipation for the time when they come back to us.
~Mary Bohling
What a fantastic nite for you lovely ladies, Jane & Mary B!!! We all knew it would be a Heavenly evening for all!!! Thankyou for sharing it with us!! Gianluca, Ignazio, & Piero with their Angel voices & Grande Amore give us precious memories whenever our pathways connect!!! 💖 💖 💖
Yes I am still on cloud 9!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Emilia, What exactly did you say to Piero? He was so sweet and you were one incredibly lucky lass to be there with them. By the way, did Piero yelp when Gianluca smacked him? That must have been one peculiar moment. It looks like you helped calm the situation down!
Thank you so much for sharing your blissfull evening with us Jane and Mary !!! Being in the presence of our endearing guys, talking to them, wrapping your arms around them and feeling their hugs and kisses is what we all dream about !! That evening you got to live it all and even more !!! You had so many hours to witness their adorable fun side too !! This was an amazing and memorable night for you !!! You are probably still floating around on Cloud 9 !!!!
joanie, yes I think we are all still afloat! They each give hugs to treasure, but I think when you hug Gianluca…you can feel the heart of his soul. He just has a way about hugging people that touches you deep inside. I have seen it in photos and have felt it for myself several times. Hoping everyone gets the chance to be near these three someday. It’s magical.
They are all amazingly wonderful and I love them all Mary. But as you might already know my heart belongs to Gianluca and having been hugged by him a couple of times I agree that he touches you deep inside. When giving him a very tight hug when we visited with him in Roseto he murmured to me “warm heart.” Yes, I do have a very warm heart when it comes to this precious young man but it is his warm heart and endearing ways that touches our hearts in such a 8profound way.
What a wonderful experience. I am living vicariously through you gals. Just to be in the same room with our boys would send my heart soaring. good for you. Joanie g
I know Envy is one of the seven deadlies but I couldn’t help but sin a little as I read your memory of that night. What magic! How clever you were to give Gianluca a pleasant reminder of his happy Soccer goal! It all sounds like a wonderful dream.
Whoops there I go again I drifted off into Envy again! Actually I am very glad that the Flight Crew were well represented that evening. Good job Jane and Mary!
Pirate, I look forward to the day when ALL of the Flight Crew members can be in the same room with Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio to share the magic that creates! I have seen them, hugged them, talked to them several times, but this night was special in that it lasted so long! I am so grateful to have been a part of it. We wore our Flight Crew lanyards so the guys knew who we represented. You were all there with us in spirit!!
Jane & Mary,
such lovely stories from you both ! 🙂 I feel from them your joy, the enthusiasm and a great love for the boys ! 🙂 I am glad with you ,that you spent an unforgettable and wonderful evening in the company of Il Volo fans and especially in the company of Piero, Ignazio, Gianluca ! 🙂 I wish you to live out this experience again in the future ! 🙂 And Mary, you’re right, guys are singing angels who spread “grande amore” – big love- to the world ! <3 My mother, when she closes her eyes and listens to their singing, she sees angels with wings. 🙂
Once again, I say thank you for sharing this great story. I am thrilled that you all had some quality time with the guys. That is wonderful. I feel bad for the guys that they had to rush right back to Italy. Better planning might have included a concert or two here to make the long flight worth it. Gianluca: the airplane air often causes cold and throat problems. Take care.
Marie and Jeannette, this program format sounds familiar.
Jane and Mary, I am overwhelmed with joy for you, being in a room with our three loving, handsome, talented young men and having time to talk with them and get hugs and kisses! I can feel the excitement just by reading your posts. You will remember that night forever!
We certainly will, Madeline!
Madeline V. I like that thought
“I can feel the excitement just
by reading your posts.” You
ladies do know how to make
the words jump off the page
to me. I almost feel as if
I were there also……. My
daughter gave me SanRemo
Grande Amore for my
birthday which was July 2
and I have played it many
times over. Love it.
Oops, meant to say July 3.
Happy belated Birthday, Gale
What a great night all of you had!! I know you were in Il Volo “ecstasy” the whole time. Thank you for sharing all the “delicious” details with us. I felt every precious kiss and hug you had with “Our Angel Men”. Thank you for sharing your time with us.
Mary & Jane – what a lovely recount of the evening! I think I really missed a LOT answering the phones, but I did get a little closer to them while they were watching their solos and I did get to make eye contact with Gianluca while taking care of his nose… 🙂 So glad we could be together that one night! Yes, so important to plan and to imprint on your brain their feelings and touch of their smiles and hugs, and smells of their cologne. That is one thing I don’t remember… Next time I am for sure going to plan what I am going to say to them and hug them a lot tighter, too! 🙂 I felt like I was going to break Gianluca though, he is so little! Lol! I think we had almost as much fun after the show at the hotel?
Take care, ladies – see you soon!
jana
Mary and Jane, Everything you said, all that you said, is true. The excitement of spending that time with you both is just barely secondary to seeing our Boys. Doing both is a dream come true. Like Jana just said, great fun after the show too! The night before wasn’t bad either! Too loud? us?
Jana, look for a picture of your gift to me tomorrow! Makes it a little hard for me to sleep!
Marie, I just hope that dear baby across the hall got some sleep! 🙂 Can’t wait to see the photo mentioned above. Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca were surely the reason we all trekked to Detroit, but a huge part of the joy of the whole experience was spending time with YOU and the other Flight Crew gals!! Can’t wait to do it again!
Jana, YES we DID have as much fun after at the hotel! I agree. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much and had so much fun. It continues to amaze me that when we get to meet each other from this site…where we have only seen what the other one writes…we are all so compatible! IL VOLO lovers are truly a special breed. 🙂 One more wonderful way in which Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio have affected our lives.