All posts by mariecrider

I am happily retired. As a career I found myself in the business end of education. Spent most of my working life researching, developing and implementing a broad spectrum of local, state and national education programs. Other than some travel, my focus now is Il Volo and the Flight Crew. How lucky am I to have found such joy? I'm having the time of my life! Oh, and I'll be a vegetarian when bacon grows on trees.
Il Volo, Our Stories

“…my turn to walk up to our guys and share my love of this beautiful concert.” ~ Jeannette

22 Comments

Written on March 26th:

Last night was my night at the Notte Magica Concert at the Monte Carlo, Park Theater in Las Vegas Nevada…

It truly was a Magical night and it started long before the concert began… Pamela McIntyre along with Myron Heaton and the Flight Crew helped me promote the casual dinner at “d. Italia” the Italian restaurant just a few steps from the Concert Venue… We asked people to make reservations under their own names and just add that they were part of the Il Volo fan group… I figured we would have around fifty fans getting together to share their love for Il Volo alone with a nice dinner…. To my surprise we filled almost every table in the entire restaurant… We had over seventy five fans that enjoyed a nice Italian dinner before going to see Il Volo… It was almost no work involved in putting this fun time together for the fans, but I have to say I loved meeting so many new people as I went table to table having them share their Il Volo stories with me… I handed out name tags for them to put their names on and everyone knew that there were Il Volo fans seated next to them and they shared stories along the way…I had a great surprise that I must share… Joanie Greenspan called me and said she was in Las Vegas and she was going to the concert… I told her to get to the restaurant for dinner and she did along with our very special friends George and Laural Filkins which Joanie and I met last year at the Fantasy Springs Il Volo concert in Ca… I have to say for me, it was truly a very special night and I had not even seen the concert as yet…
 
The concert was spectacular… The guys were just simply Super Stars on that stage, they never sounded better or looked more elegant than last night… I could go on forever but I would just be repeating what we have already read from other fans…
There are no better singers/entertainers in this world than OUR IL VOLO!!!
 
Of all the meet and greets in all the world, happiness and joy walked into mine… I must say we were sort of at the end of the line with just three lovely young ladies behind us… As Myron and I were discussing the wonders of the performances of each of our guys, Robert Gandara chief operating officer of OMGVIP came over and visited with us… He is just a delightful gentleman that help us so much when we were putting the fan fair together last year…He has become a valuable friend and he just shared his love for Il Volo with us, with very special and sincere feelings for our guys… We met three young people from Mexico who were in front of us… They were exquisitely dressed in tuxedos and bow ties, the young beautiful girl with them was in a beautiful long dress and her beauty was that of a young Salma Hayek, but even more beautiful… They were the highlight of the meet and greet thus far, for as we were standing in line they not only engaged in loving conversation about Il Volo, but also was very helpful to us as we had many bags given to us from fans at the dinner to give to the guys because those fans were not able to go to the Meet and Greet… They carried our bags though our time in line until we got to the table for gifts…
 
Now it was my turn to walk up to our guys and share my love of this beautiful concert .., I wanted them to know how much I enjoyed every moment and that I felt that they exceeded every expectation that I could have for them… They each thanked me and gave me a hug… Gianluca was the last of the three in line and when I walked up to him he just put his arms around me with a grand hug and asked me if I liked the performance… I of course engaged in a very long conversation with him about the beauty of the concert, and also told him I would see them in Italy… His eyes lit up and asked me which concert I would be attending, and when I gave him the list he hugged me again and again and said he would be looking forward to seeing us in Italy… Piero also gave me a hug when he heard we would see them in Italy… I have to say, I must have been with them for a full two minutes before I had to turn around to have our picture taken, that was the first time I realize that Myron was at the other end talking with Ignazio .. So we had much more time with our guys than at any other meet and greet… When we walked away we saw Barbara and has a warm and loving conversation with her as well… So I have to end this summary by saying this was the most exciting and very best Magical night of my Il Volo life …
 
Thanks to all who came to to our dinner at d.Italia’s and thanks to the new Il Volo friends I made along the way, and special thanks to IL VOLO…Thanks to you it was my Notte Magica..

~~Jeannette Giglio

Who's Going Where

Who’s Going Where…Europe!

20 Comments

OK Europe…It’s Almost Your Turn

In just three days the U.S. is returning your precious sons back to you. We took good care of them. We made them as comfortable as we could. We lavished them with love and gifts and are now returning them intact (that’s always a close call) and in good health. We really wanted to keep them, but we know it’s time to let them go home. Thanks for the loan.  How soon can we have them back?

Si avrà una meravigliosa notte magica! Buon divertimento!

“Notte Magica” VIP Meet & Greet Upgrade includes:
– Meet & Greet with Il Volo
– Photograph with Il Volo
– Autographed VIP Laminate
– Exclusive VIP Merchandise Item
http://www.omgvip.com/il-volo-europe/

 

Don’t forget your badge!

 

Some idea of what you will be seeing very soon.

If inquiring minds want to know…The story of the opera, Turandot – http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/opera/qt/Turandot-Synopsis.htm

Here’s The List so far.  Please update me, in comments, if I have it wrong or your name is missing.  

Look for these folks!  Here we go:

Notte Magica Tour

April 26th ~  Brussels, Belgium
~Sue Hamshall
~Graham Hamshall

May 3rd ~ Roccaraso, Italy
~Daniela

May 5th ~ Turin, Italy

May 6th ~ Bologna, Italy

May 9th ~ Milan, Italy

May 12th ~ Rome, Italy
~Jannette & Friends
~Sue Hemshall
~Graham Hemshall
~Dr. Jay and Victoria Wilson

May 15th ~ Ancona, Italy
~Sue Hemshall
~Graham Hemshall
~Joaniefl2

May 17th ~ Livorno, Italy
~Joaniefl2
~Maura Siena
~Maura’s husband

May 19th ~ Verona, Italy
~Daniela Perani
~Daniela’s husband, Beppe
~Donna Pother
~Mary M
~Mary M’s Husband
~Susan
~Susan’s brother
~Jeannette & Friends
~Dorothy Vessey
~Sue Hemshell
~Graham Hemshall
~Maura Siena
~Maura’s husband
~Wendy Keighley
~2 accompanying Wendy
~Maura Pucci
~Marie Crider (that’s a lie, but I really really, really want to be here)

May 20th ~ Verona, Italy
~Jeannette & Friends
~Patrizia Ciava
~Janet D.
~Jane D.’s husband
~John from CT
~Joaniefl2

May 23rd ~ London, England
~Sue Hamshall
~Graham Hamshall
~Bernard Duffy
~Bernard’s wife Rosalba
~1johnson17
~Kathy Pritchard
~Kathy’s husband
~Jeannette and friends

June 1st ~ Taromina, Italy
~Jeannette & Friends
~Betty Young (Bubby Young)
~Mealani Evensen
~Mealani’s cousin Melinda Walker

June 4th ~ Taormina, Italy
~Kathy Pritchard
~Kathy’s husband

June 10th ~ Naples, Italy
~Bernard Duffy
~Bernard’s wife Rosalba
~Bernard’s sis-in-law, Eleonora

General news, Il Volo

More !

18 Comments

Don’t forget ~ Watch Home & Family Today  (and tomorrow) 10a/9c, Hallmark Channel!

                                                                 📺📺📺

 

Europe gets Meet & Greets!  Good for You!

                                                                📸📸📸

 

The Pope really needs to hear this!

                                                                🕇🕇🕇

This is such a beautiful shot!  Had to share it.  Our Guys and their conductor, Joseph Modica.

                                                          🎶🎶🎶

 

General news, Il Volo

Things You Need to Know!

25 Comments

Il Volo will perform this Thursday, March 23, on the Home & Family Show (10 AM-12 PM, EST), on the Hallmark Channel. I so hope they’ll be featured throughout the show, as they were when they appeared on the show both on June 19 and November 25, 2013. (FYI: The show re-airs the following day, Friday, March 24, 12-2 PM, EST.)

http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-and-family/home-family-season-5

Thanks for the info. Beverly Olson and the Pittsburgh Fan Club!

 

LAST CHANCE FOR LAS VEGAS CONCERT TICKETS!

Hello Marie,

Circumstances here at home are going to prevent me from attending the Las Vegas IL VOLO concert this Saturday. I have 2 tickets that I am not allowed to sell online because they are VIP merchandise package tickets, NOT MEET & GREET. The 2 tickets I bought are:

“Notte Magica” Exclusive Merchandise Package Includes:
-Premium Seat Ticket
-Exclusive Il Volo Merchandise Item

I have attached a screen shot of the seats and where they are located. My sister called the VIP phone number and they said that they are able to transfer the VIP package to anyone she tells them to. So it is possible to still get the Il Volo merchandise.

Would you know of anyone that would want to purchase these tickets. I paid $250 each for them and would take $150 each for them.

Please let me know as soon as you can.

Thanks so much,

Pat

Contact Pat here in comments.

The third thing you all need to know is who is going to plan a Flight Crew Family Reunion HERE?  

Thanks for the idea Ineke!

 

“Location is at a vineyard in the Abruzzo region of Central Italy named fontana di vino is located in the Dora Sarchese vineyard in the small town of Caldari di Ortona, which sits on the Italian pilgrimage route of Cammino di San Tommaso.”

To those of you who haven’t attended your concert yet…you won’t believe it!  To those of you who already have… it’s ok, relax, your feet will eventually hit the ground again.  Promise.

~Marie

General news

Gina, From Waco to Vegas ~ A Concert Bound Tip!

9 Comments

In my younger days I did get a chance to travel some and to different countries and before leaving always had an anxiety attack on wanting to be sure I knew not to make mistakes in etiquette and tipping. Due to a certain size of my pocket book I did not stay at ‘THE RICH AND FAMOUS” establishments but still knew I had to be a good guest.

I AM READY TO GO ON MY “LAST” LONG TRIP
and decided to check out what is written about learning to be a very ‘smooth’ and “knowledgeable” traveler. I will comment of my experience upon my return.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association offers excellent advice on tipping standards in their Gratuity Guide. They list the staff members who should be tipped and a recommended amount. For example, it’s customary to tip $1-$5 to the bellman who takes your suitcase to the hotel room. You can decide how much, based on how heavy your belongings are, whether he showed you around, or provided you with useful information. Everyone appreciates a tip, but there’s another way to show your appreciation—take time to write an online review or letter mentioning a staff member’s exemplary service to the hotel’s general manager.

Here are tipping guidelines provided by the American Hotel & Lodging Association in partnership with Forbes Travel Guide:

Hotel Courtesy Shuttle Driver: $1-2 per person, $5 per party.
Valet/Parking Attendant: $1-5 when car is delivered.
Bellstaff/Porters: $1-5 per bag when escorted to your room. Tip the same if you request bell staff service while checking out.
Doorstaff: $1-2 for getting a taxi. If they unload your luggage, tip in proportion to amount and weight.
Concierge: $5-10 depending on how involved the service, or lump sum upon departure.
Housekeeping: $1-5 per night, and tip should be left daily in the morning. If possible, leave a note saying the money is for housekeeping.
Delivery of Special Items: $2 for one item, $5 for more. Tipping is not required for someone fixing something broken or bringing something missing.
Room Service: A gratuity of 15-20% should be added if hotel did not include a room service charge on the bill.
Bartender: Tip 15-20% of total beverage tab.
Server in Restaurant: Tip 15% of total bill or 20% for exceptional service.
—Renee Sklarew

ny.curbed.com/2014/3/24/10127756/how-much-to-give-hotel-staff-the·

~Gina
 THE 81 YEAR OLD LOST IN A BIG CITY!