This is a lovely review sent in by Victoria Wilson. Her and her husband celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by going to Italy to see Il Volo. They had many obstacles in their way, but they did not let anything stop them!
This trip was like watching a cute movie following an older couple completing their dream trip to celebrate a special Anniversary. We still cannot believe we did it. And to make it even more special, we got Meet and Greet tickets.
Taking a wheelchair, service dog, and a woman in a lot of pain to Italy for the first time became a full time job…. outdated passports, getting medical records for my service dog, finding flights and hotels that would accommodate us…..It was all a great adventure.
Our flight from Minneapolis had an hour layover in Amsterdam and I got really worried with my wheelchair and getting us through immigration to change planes to KLM. I didn’t think it could be done and got scared. KLM wasn’t much help so I emailed the CEO of Delta. His assistant arranged everything for us. Delta Airline was wonderful, upgraded us to first class, and had an aid meet us at the plane to take us through immigration to our KLM flight. Delta was equally as wonderful on the way home meeting us with a aid to shuffle through the crowds. They promised us a wonderful trip. It was amazing and they wanted us to have a wonderful 50th Wedding Anniversary. I hung up the phone, thanked God, and cried for joy. All my worries faded away.
I’ve never had a trip like this in my life. We’re in love with Italy. We saw everything in Florence, then Venice, and WOW, Rome. We ate our way around the country with the most delicious food and fell in love with gelato. When they meet us in heaven an Italian will hand us a gelato.
I paced myself for the concert May 12. We wore laminated ‘Flight Crew’ badges on a silver cord around our neck hoping we would meet other Flight Crew lovers. We met a lot of Americans so I gave our badges to people who will be joining the Flight Crew group. They too saw Il Volo in America and followed them to Italy.
We were at the concert and looking up at that wonderful chandelier. My God we actually did it! We pinched each other to make sure this wasn’t a dream.
WE WERE TOLD……NO FILMING AND NO FLASH PICTURES and again the concert was sold out. We taped the concert and I filmed what I could from the big screen and stage.
THE CONCERT WAS SIMPLY AMAZING!! They behave like brothers. They were funny and charming. Their voices are so pure and full that it’s impossible to believe they’re still boys… (To people celebrating 50 years of marriage they are still boys). I cried and laughed. It was over too fast. How can they do this every night, sound so fresh, and be so charming to their fans? Gianluca tool selfies of himself singing with some fan’s camera and then would give it back. What treasures for that fan.
The boys were delightful at the Meet and Greet. Ignazio came right over to pet Phoebe and told us Piero was allergic to dogs. I explained Phoebe was hypoallergenic as I too had been allergic to dogs. He told me what to say in Italian explaining that Phoebe was hypoallergenic so Piero need not worry.
The photographer took several pictures and when Gianluca saw Phoebe in the picture he ran back so he could definitely be in that picture too. I wish we could get all the pictures they took of us. I’m trying,
These boys are everything I expected…. unspoiled, love people, and were darling to everyone.
We thought the evening was over. However, no taxi would come and get us so late at night. The Concert Hall people tried for an hour to get us a taxi. It was after midnight. Finally they said they found a taxi and told us to go down the road and a taxi was on the way.
Ahahahahahaha….. We were in the pitch black in the middle of no where with a special collar for Phoebe with red lights flashing.
We saw all the Il Volo cars pass us by. I told God I needed a car or we would be sleeping on that road overnight. Within 10 seconds, we saw the headlights of an Il Volo staff car come up the road. They had been sent back to pick us up and drive us to our hotel – another unbelievable miracle.
Fenia and another male staff member loaded my wheelchair, me, Jay, and Phoebe into their car. Fenia is in charge of planning all the Italian concerts for Il Volo. I was in a daze. All the way to our hotel (40 minutes), we talked about the boys…the concert…. and the symphony. Fenia asked so many questions. I told her I can fake normal and could tell how much energy it takes to sing like those boys sing every night….. and then to appear fresh and full of energy for all their fans. It takes a lot to give so much of themselves. It only happens when you love what you do. Fenia wanted to know if the concert was good and I think the energy is very draining to sing like that every night. And their schedule is very full.
Fenia was sweet and kind. She explained how we were seen on the road and they were told to make sure we were taken care of and to take us to our hotel. It was after 1:00 am when we got to the hotel, the gates were locked, and Fenia took care of everything,
That ride was unbelievable. Fenia said over and over again that she was going to tell the boys all about us and our story of why we came to Rome to see them. She wanted the boys to know how much their voices erased pain for me. They are such a gift and more than just enjoyment.
I couldn’t dream up a better adventure than the one we had. We enjoyed everything….the bumpy cobblestones, the food, getting lost, visits to the hospital – I lost my meds. Nothing could disturb the fun we were having. My husband even dragged luggage over all the bridges in Venice for an old couple (well older than us) because they were limping and looked like a heart attack in the making. He is now called ‘Santo Jay’.
We got home to Minneapolis. Jay woke up early in the morning and wanted to know if we were still in Rome — I said YES — and he went right back to sleep. Why spoil a great dream he was having.
Thank you for all your help. Everyone has been wonderful on this site. We couldn’t have done it without you. I read your emails every day and we are still reviving from jet lag.
Please keep our daughter in your prayers as she came home for (we hope) a minor surgery Wednesday. Life always has something for us to do that sure wasn’t on my list.
Blessings to everyone.
Victoria and Jay Wilson
Here is a short video that Victoria took of the last song….
What a great photo of you and the guys!!
