Another Birthday? Tanti Auguri, Gian!

It was a beautiful day in Detroit on February 11 this year, close to 40 degrees and a slight chance of rain. The Detroit Il Volo Gals met at our usual haunt about 5:30p, at Antonio’s in Dearborn Heights. Donna and Chris had all the decorations up, ready for the rest of us, when management said they had to move to another table, as they had a funeral party of 40 coming in! So, they packed everything up and moved a few tables away, but this time we were by the virtual fireplace, so it was nice and cozy. 🙂

This year, our crew consisted of Donna, Chris, Lorna, Barb, Ginny, Magdalena, Sharon, and myself.

When we walked in, they were playing the music from We Are Love and we knew we were in the right place. Since it was a few days before Valentine’s Day, several of the girls brought extra treats and sweets for all of us. Magdalena brought a beautiful bouquet of roses for all of us to share and take home.

 

Before dinner, we had a chance to play a few games. The first one, no one had to think hard, it was “turn over your plate to see who had Gian on it!” Well, Sharon won that one and she got a nice Murano glass bowl. The 2^nd game was “how many words can you make out of Gianluca?” I don’t remember who won that one, but Ginny won the next question of who has the closest birthday to Gian’s? Hers being Feb 13! She got this beautiful vase with colored stripes. However, she wanted to trade it for Sharon’s bowl, which she did and then they were both happy! Donna is always so generous and brought gifts for everyone, making sure no one went home empty-handed.

We placed our dinner orders. Magdalena had the Bocelli Carbonara and a few others ordered the Il Volo Pollo. No one seemed to order any of the specialty drinks this time – Nutella Hummer or the Gianluca special.

 

Lorna brought the cake and balloons! Did you know you can get these huge individual letter or number balloons now from Party City? Lorna brought “22” and “GG” to celebrate the occasion.

 

Soon, we were all stuffed, and had our carryout boxes waiting, but were all ready for dessert!

 

We took lots of pictures and chatted and wondered what the new concert was going to bring. Several of the girls are going to Italy again. Ah, how we all wish we could join them. We splurged on the cake and meal and decided we still had at least a month to lose some weight!

 

It was time for dessert! We moved the balloons to the cake table and we cut the cake and took more pictures. We did not sing Tanti Auguri this time, as we were keeping it low-key due to the funeral party. The cake was as lovely as it was delicious. Of course, we are not too sure who Giovanni was, but decided he must be a friend of Gianluca’s! However, all we noticed was the picture of Gian that Lorna chose.

 

During dessert, since Ginny’s birthday was so close, Chris brought two special brownies, complete with candles for both Lorna and Ginny. Lorna’s birthday was Jan 10, so we celebrated their birthday’s also. Ginny also got a few bottles of Prosecco….

 

Before we knew it, it was time to go home. Magdalena passed out her roses and we took some more pictures.

 

As we left, the weather decided it was going to rain. As I recall, for each party for Gianluca, it rains in some fashion. I remember the first one was freezing drizzle and I think it rained last year, as well! But that never matters, as it’s always warmth, laughter, and friendship inside, sharing precious moments that only happen a few times a year!

From the Detroit Il Volo Gals, to all of you – Happy Birthday/Tanti Auguri, Gianluca!

See you soon in Detroit, at the Fox! And for us lucky ones going on to Chicago! Ciao!

 

Jana