Buonanotte tutte!! jmv (y estoy muy, muy cansado!)
Allora….Day 1.5 & 2
So far everything has been ship-shape and right on schedule!
We landed safely in Florence and hailed Uber! Our nice driver, Alessio, who spoke English, got us safely to our hotel. Or at least pretty close. A lot of one-way streets in Florence and they drive fast and crazy! The entrance to our bed and breakfast was a bit hidden, so he drove past it a bit, so we just walked, as it was a one-way street and he really couldn’t turn around.
We had some difficulty actually finding the rooms, as nothing is marked. There were 4 floors and we had no idea which one it was. Nothing said Martindago. I went to 4 and Lorna went to 2 and we could not find it. Each floor just had these HUGE wooden double doors on either side of the floor. I finally gave up and called them. They were on 3!
Ok, we got to our room, filled out the paperwork, and then relaxed a bit. We arrived just about noon, as expected! We were a bit tired, so we took a nap. We needed to meet our group for the tour at 6:10p. I looked on my trusty Google Maps and saw it was just a 10 minute or so walk from the hotel. Ok, we can do this, so we set off. We went a little ways and decided it was the wrong direction, so we turned around. Not sure if this is like this all over Italy, but street signs are on buildings! So, you had to keep looking up without tripping over the cobblestone walks. As Lorna said, it was a miracle we found it, after a few wrong turns and the sun in our eyes, we ended up in the right spot!
We soon found out Alessio was our driver and chef again. No, different person. Lol! Alessio took us into the rolling hills of Tuscany in the Chianti region. We arrived and were instructed to wash our hands. Then it was a quick history of chianti wine and that the wine we were going to drink tonight was organic. Like champagne, you cannot call just any dry red wine, Chianti!
We were then led to the kitchen for our first lesson. We actually made our own dough, added toppings, and then he threw it in the ovens. Next came the demo of making chocolate gelato. We also learned what to look for in buying a good gelato. Kind of like a diamond, but only 4 criteria…1. are crowds local or tourists, 2. price – no more than $2.50 for 2 scoops, 3. be sure it is offered in small amounts, not mounded high in the case, 4. like a diamond, color – be sure your favorite flavor is a natural color, not overly orange, pink, or yellow. After the gelato lesson, it was time for pictures. We went outside and were able to take pictures of the beautiful landscape, while our pizzas were cooking.
It was then time to come in and eat our creations. My toppings were sauce, cheese, black olives, red onions, proscuitto, and what he called salami. And it had a kick! Sprinkled with oregano. I like my cheese on top, so that is where I put it. Pizza was ok, but looked good. I think I will continue to buy my dough! However, the wine and gelato were awesome, and we bought a bottle of wine to bring back to the room. We even got diplomas. By nearly 10pm, it was time to go back, so we got a very quick and bumpy ride back to the drop off point.
Once again, my trusty Google Maps got us back to the hotel.
The next day – July 1! The day of the first concert! I know a lot of it is already circulating on the net…
I woke up at 4am and could not go back to sleep, so I gave up and got up at 6am. Got in our tiny bathroom shower and was careful not to brak my neck. Next, I rolled Lorna out of bed. We made it for breakfast about 8:30am or so. It took us a few tries, but figured out breakfast was about a half block away on the corner. We had 2 cappuccinos and a croissant and shared it with the birds.
We were waiting for a call from Veronica, who was bringing our Verona tickets. We ended up meeting her and her 1 friend at the steps of the Santa Croce at 11:30a. We decided to find a restaurant and had lunch. After almost a few hours, we made it back to our hotel and agreed to meet again at 4:45pm, as Lorna and the girls were gettingb their hair done. Prior to that we almost passed the hotel where the guys were staying. Fans were camped out waiting for them to appear. No sign of them, so back to our rooms we went. The girls got their hair done, while I got our tickets to the concert. I was hungry and it was a bit after 6p, so we ate dinner at this restaurant by our hotel. It was very good and had a very nice waiter who spoke English. They ask you what kind og water you want – sparling or regular, gas or no gas! Ok, what were you really thinking? Lol! It was nearly 7:30p by the time we got out of there, so we quickly went back to our rooms to get ready.
Just getting to the Santa Croce was an adventure. We were just a 10 minute walk away, but it took us almost half an hour, as they routed us clear around the entire plaza to the other side. We got to our seats about 9:10p and the concert was supposed to start at 9:15p. Alas, I suggested Lorna change purses and she forgot her phone! Ok, up to me to take pictures and video.
Oh, on our slight detour around the plaza, we accidentally ran into the guys leaving the hotel and getting in their van. Amongst the crowd, we were able to see Igna’s and Piero’s heads. I screamed to Lorna, “it’s the guys, it’s the guys!” They quickly vanished into the van and the doors were shut. We turned the other way and made it back to the venue to find our seats.
Mi dispiace, but it is 2:30am, i am exhausted and need to get up in 4 hours for our all day tour tomorrow. So, i must sign off for now. Part 2 tomorrow! Sorry, some pictures tomorrow…
And this one… Watch very near the end. Emotions take over. How is that even possible for a 13-year-old?
Il Volo has been together for almost six years… Its been an amazing journey for them… Il Volo’s first Video introduced us to the new singing group that we knew would someday be a sensation after watching this first video…
Their management built their Career very carefully… Starting with an introduction by
having them participate in the filming of We Are the world Haiti…
Three young teenagers just fourteen and fifteen years old come to the United States
and Sing O Solo Mio on American Idol and BOOM, their career jump started with that
American TV show…
We then saw these three boys in a promo as they toured NYC for the first time… Oh
how charming they were… They came to NYC and stole our hearts forever… Here
their famous line was I hope, everybody hope to go there “Radio City Music Hall, and
have a big concert for the American people…
After American Idol, we saw them tour North and South America stealing hearts along
the way… They made three PBS Concerts, Il Volo Takes Flight From the Detroit Opera House.
We are love-and-Buon Natale
By this time, they were having sold out concerts everywhere they went, these three
teenage boys were loved by young and old alike… They have touched the hearts of
every generation that has heard their music… Their dreams were coming true… Many
interviews, concerts and TV shows… We just could not get enough of Il Volo and they
delivered… Their big dream came true on their 2013 American tour when they did in
fact play Radio City Music Hall…
Oh there are so many more special moments that they gave to us over the years…
Touring with Barbra Streisand , Nobel Peace concert, Moscow, China….
Il Volo gave us so many wonderful memories… The concerts every year… They shared
their milestones with us … Do you remember how excited you were when you heard
they won the Latin Bill Board awards?
Then another of their dreams came true…They had their first concerts in Italy in the
Summer of 2014… Oh how they shined… How proud we were of them… By this time
they were not boys any more but handsome young men.. They were our young men…
We gave them our hearts… They captured our souls with their beautiful music… Now
it was time for them to steal the hearts of everyone in Italy…
Il Volo has given themselves to us completely and we have embraced them… We are
an Il Volo family here on the Il Volo Flight Crew, thanks to them sharing so much love
with us… And they even share their family and friends with us…
This year started with Il Volo being promoted in Italy with their own documentary on
RAI 1, and of course Uncle Bruno and Massimo Giletti featuring them on their Italian
TV shows…
Then the big moment came when they went to Sanremo in hopes to have another
dream come true… Winning the hearts of the Italians just like they won our hearts
over the last six years… They won Sanremo, the Italians embraced them… They are
loved at home… We have three joyous young men living the dream… We are so happy
for Il Volo, after all they are our young men…
Il Volo has a heavy schedule from now to the end of Sept… Concerts from Italy to
China and countries in-between.. But wait, we do not see North and South America
on the schedule as yet… We are concerned… Some of us are even worried… Did they
forget us? Are we going to see them live and in person in 2015? I do not have a
Crystal Ball, I do not read minds, and I do not know their schedule… But what I do
know is that Il Volo will never forget us… They love the Americas (North and South)
and everyone of their fans here… Remember we are happy for their success and their
dreams coming true… Let the rest of the world feel the love that Il Volo has given us,
they will share their journey with us as they have always done in the past and when
they post the tour dates for North and South America we will make plans with our Il
Volo family to meet at concerts, scramble to purchase our tickets, and will be so
happy and so proud of our guys
BECAUSE WE KNEW THEM WHEN
~Jannette
Hello friends!
Although Sanremo is now just a memory….All of us had been waiting for this week to happen, so we could support our guys, but no one had been waiting with more anticipation, than our beloved Gianluca! Obviously, for the special reason that he turned 20 years old on the day of their performance! What a special birthday he will never forget!
The Il Volo Detroit Fan Club also wanted to share with him his special day. Even though most of his birthday was pretty much over by the time we got together, we had a great time – only wish he could have been there – but of course he was there in spirit!
We all met at Antonio’s Cucina by 5:30p. Unfortunately, only 6 of us were able to make it, but we had a great time with our small group and everyone was able to talk to each other. We had a nice waiter, named Randy, who was gracious enough to put up with us and our craziness and take our pictures, when needed. A few of us ordered a special menu item, seriously called, “Il Volo Pollo” which was Italian style cut chicken in a rosemary wine glaze. I had that and it was very good. It was served with Italian style green beans and tomatoes and a side of pasta. They also had two special drinks for the night. A Nutella hummer, which I heard was very good and a “Gianluca” drink, consisting of raspberry or pineapple vodka, Amaretto, grenadine, sour mix, I think, and served with a maraschino cherry and orange slice! I had one of those – pretty potent! We also had a cake, wishing Gianluca “happy birthday” along with some special sugar cookies made by Emilia, frosted with Tanti Aguri, Gianluca!
We even played games – what’s a birthday party without games AND prizes!!?? The first game was “Gianluca trivia questions – 13 of them!” Personally, I got 2 wrong because I couldn’t remember his mother’s name (shame on me!) or his latest girlfriend’s name, although they had already broken up. The prize for that was a lovely pasta bowl from Italy. I won the easiest game next – just had to look under my bread plate and there was smiling Gian! I won a scrumptious looking bottle of Moscato from Sicily. Can’t wait to try it! However, I did not take his picture off my plate right away and Randy cleared the dishes away. He came back later and said he found a picture on the bottom of a plate and thought we’d like it back. However, one of the girls asked him if he wanted it, and guess what? He did!! Oh well… I have plenty of his selfies to look at on Instagram! The last game was a memory game – the brain just ain’t what it used to be and I was tired from working all day! They brought out a platter with all items “Gianluca.” Things like a cell phone, candy, Italy flag, We Are Love CD, etc. The prize for that was an adorable full front cooking apron that says Bella Italia and came from Italy! With a beautiful Italian countryside scene behind the words…
After that, we decided it was time to sing happy birthday! So, we lit the candles on the cake, turned on the video camera and sang both happy birthday AND tanti aguri to Gianluca! We sent the video off to Ercole for Gianluca to see. I’m sure he received many of them that day! We then cut the cake and it was delicious!
Antonio’s even played a few of their CDs for us to listen to. I heard you could hear them the best in the bathroom! Lol!
We all gathered around the cell phone to watch the Grande Amore presentation from that night. Attached here is a picture of the evening…. A big thank you to Donna and Emilia who organized this event and made sure everyone went home with their goodie bag as well, filled with Italian candies and of course – a “to go” of Nutella in honor of Gianluca!
We’ve decided to get together again for Piero’s birthday because this was so much fun! So, mark your calendars for June 24 – also a Wednesday.
I had so much fun meeting other Il Volovers. It was so nice to talk to someone else who felt the same way and had so many stories to tell. Everyone there, except for myself and the friend I brought, had seen and met them several times already. So, I was pretty much the newbie there! I really encourage you to do this in your hometowns, if you can. It is a grande amore time!
Ok, now for some exciting news!! I got an email from Amazon today and they said the Grande Amore CD was going to be released EARLIER than expected. Not sure if this is the same for anyone else that ordered from the Italian site – not sure how they can even do this? But, I am supposed to get it next week now! Like a week earlier. Still planning my CD release party, but girls – not sure I can hold off for a WHOLE WEEK and not listen to it first! That might be a little more self-control than I have right now…? Guess I’ll just have to replay their video over and over. Like wow – someone find an AED quick, because I thought for sure I was going to have a heart attack after watching it the first time! I swear, I was breathless…even speechless, and for those of you who know me personally, that’s almost an impossibility!
Oh, and just one more little tidbit – I have converted another Il Volover! Quite unexpectedly, it’s a younger fellow in my department at work. A young, male, engineer. One day he asked me what I was listening to, as it sounded like opera. He sits on the other side of my cube. Well, poor guy, as you know, you get us talking about our guys and it’s the kiss of death! I tried to keep it short and excitedly told him who they were. Oddly, another young man that sat next to him, was familiar with them also!? Yes, I have to say, I was quite surprised…. Anyhow, to make a long story short, he listened to them and like a true follower he said, and I am just about quoting here “they sound pretty good by themselves, but when they sing together – wow!” Yes, a YOUNG GUY said that!! So, we are not alone ladies!! LOL! I have since turned him on to my just about all time favorite video of them doing “Surrender” at the Westbury on Jun 25, 2014. He watched it and said “that guy in the vest….” I said, “yeah, that’s Ignazio….” “He’s quite the ladies man,” he said, after he mentioned him dancing with the girl in the audience. “Oh yeah…,” I said. Next, I told him to find Memory. I’m sure he will tell me when he listens to that one!
Converting Il Volovers, one song at a time…. (I’m up to 7 now, how about you??)
Jana ScoobyDoo