The adventure of our fantastic friends Deborah and Jeannette continues …
Enjoy reading and ……. keep your jealousy !!!
Daniela
Saturday, March 9
Now here is the scoop for Saturday night!!
After we left Max Cream, we went to the mall to get our passes for the instore tour on Sunday in Castrofilippo, then checked into our B&B in Canicattì.
So what should we do for dinner tonight!! Well, let’s go to Naro and eat at Ristorante Pizzeria Maison. This is a lovely restaurant we visited last year….and of course we knew that the boys were in Catania that day for the instore tour there. So we also figured there was no chance in “hell” that we would accidentally run into them!!
The two waiters recognized us from last year, and were excited to see us back! We had a great conversation with them and had a several course, fantastic long dinner, in typical Sicilian style.
Well….while we were sitting there, suddenly we noticed some familiar faces coming into the restaurant. I looked up and there was Gaetano Barone coming towards us with a huge smile. He gave us hugs and a warm welcome to Naro. It appeared to be a family gathering along with a few friends, as Eleonora, Mariagrazia, Nonno Pietro and Nonna were all there!!It was nice to see the family enjoying each other’s company!
As we were served our delicious dessert, we received an extra special treat! Walking towards our table was none other than….you guessed it….our gorgeous Piero!!! He gave us a warm welcome and was happily surprised to see us as we were him, because we thought he was still in Catania. He had a little conversation with us, and then rejoined his family and friends!
As we were leaving, we got hugs & kisses from Eleonora ….. Piero with an absolutely gorgeous smile, waved to us and said, “See you tomorrow!”
Sorry, we did not take any photos as we wanted to respect their privacy!!!
Sunday, March 10
Instore tour at Centro Commerciale LaVigne
We arrived several hours early to get a good spot…Unfortunately Mall Security had other ideas!!! They explained in detail to us, what we needed to do and where to go…. however … Non ho capito!!!
So we wandered around until we saw a group of people gathered together and thought “Are these other Ilvolovers???”
As we approached them, we asked if they were there to see IL VOLO…the only thing they understood from us was…IL VOLO!!!! They said Sì! So we got in line! … We decided to mingle with the fans there…so unable to adequately communicate in Italian…Jeannette pulled out her special IL VOLO picture book that the boys had signed previously and that’s all the communication we needed!!!
We were actually adopted by this very nice couple that was in line in front of us!! They spoke no English and we spoke no Italian, however through Google Translate, sign language and “The now famous Book” we had a blast!!!
As we were standing in line waiting, it became apparent that crowds of people we going up the escalator for the CD signing!! We were getting upset because we came early to get a good spot and we were going nowhere!! To our surprise, when they finally let us go up the escalator, there was a lane that lead us to a special area with seats for the pass holders!! (Sure beats standing for hours like we did in Carini.)
The MC entertained us (in Italian) and was very funny even though we had no clue what was being said…He picked three girls out of our area..and named them…Ignaciette, Pieramia and Gianlita or something to that effect…and had them sing 🎶Musica Che Resta🎶!! They sang very well!!…
It was finally time for our boys to enter and everyone went wild!! The CD signing went pretty quickly this time, but we received their love and attention before we were hauled off the stage by the the big burley bouncer that was waiting for us!! 😉😂😊 As we went off the stage, who do we first see??? Eleonora and Mariagrazia!!! Once again we get big hugs and kisses!! We also saw Dario, Piero’s good friend, and talked with him for a bit and spent some time with Max Messina and his beautiful girlfriend!
The instore tours have now come to an end…with wonderful memories for us to cherish….Until our next IL VOLO adventure….we say ….
I am sure that after you read this beautiful and long adventure of the instore in Sicily of our friends Jeannette Giglio and Deborah GeorginiBeaupre, you will all want to come to Italy, preferably to Sicily, to participate in an instore ……. Jeannette and Deborah are just two forces of nature: Daniela
Centro Commerciale Poseidon is where the IL VOLO adventure of a life time started for Deborah Georgini Beaupre and Jeannette Giglio, oh that’s me… We went to the CD signing two hours early and there we met Giovanna and Nino Leone, Daniela Galati-LaFata’s sister and brother-in-law… They were up front and we were able to get to them with a great view of IL VOLO when they came onto the stage…Deborah purchased our CD’s a couple of days before I arrived and had our passes for our CD signing with the boys…We met some nice people in line and did our best to communicate with our limited Italian and their limited English. With the help of our new found friend, Giovanna, we were able to share stories of the love we have for IL VOLO…Nino took pictures of us all together and then surprised us by taking pictures of us on stage withlL VOLO...
In 2016 after the Las Vegas fanfare I had a beautiful book made up with pictures of IL VOLO when they were young boys and through the years…In the middle of the book was pictures of the fanfare and lastly pictures of them in 2016 , Notte Magica pictures with Placido Domingo, and some of Michele and Barbara mixed in. The Italian ladies and a few Italian men were thrilled to see the book and it was funny to see Deborah and I trying to explain the activities in the pictures to them, you have to remember we are trying to explain to them in English and a few Italian words sprinkled in and them talking fast in Italian to us and we just had the best time with them in spite of the language barrier…
It was finally our turn to get in line to see our boys and get the CD’s signed … There were about 400 to 500 people crowded around the stage. We pushed our way out of the crowd and tried going around to the left side of the stage where the fans were lining up… The people standing there watching our guys would not let us through even though we were holding up our passes to show why we had to get ahead of them… We gave up and went around the entire crowd of people and went to the right side of the stage and around the back of the stage to where the ticket holders were lining up and the mall cop would not let us in!!! He said we had to go back around and just work our way through the crowd…Now we are angry and hot from jogging around the mall of 500 people so this time we just pushed our way through the crowd and let them yell at us in Italian, we didn’t care, we didn’t understand them anyway, we were not going to miss our time with “our boys.”
Deborah went up first and said, “Ciao guys!!” They were very surprised to see her and recognized her right away!! Ignazio gave her a big hug and smile and Gianluca a big smile and said to her, “Come stai?” She drew a blank and almost said “Bueno”!!! The words “Molto bene” just wouldn’t come out, until Gianluca said you need to speak in Italian “Va bene”? As she was speaking to both of them, we found out later it was being filmed, as you probably already saw in her post. As security was about to have her move on, Piero said wait, grabbed her hand and told the MC that she was from America, so he came to her with the microphone and asked her what her name was and where she was from and also gave her a big hug!! What an special moment!
Now it was my turn. I went up the first two steps and Ignazio was the first to see me and he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a big warm hug… I was flabbergasted almost at a loss for words… but this is mighty mouth Jeannette and I recovered my vocabulary quickly and asked him if they would sign my book… He took the book and smiled as he looked at some of the pictures and then signed on the front page.
As this was happening, Gianluca saw me and with his biggest most loving smile said, oh you are here tooooo!!! He gave me a big hug and double cheek kisses then played tug of war with Ignazio trying to grab the book away from him… Ignazio said something in Italian and made one of his angry funny faces in his comical style and let Gianluca have the book… Gianluca got all excited and started looking through each page and commented how great he thought the book was… Then by this time Piero noticed the book and pictures and wanted to see it… Gianluca said no, no, no and continued looking through pages until he saw a picture of him and me, he then signed the picture and handed the book to Piero and asked if we would be going to Catania… I said no but we will see you Sunday… His face lit up again with that million dollar smile and said good, see you there and gave me a little hug as I turned to Piero…
By this time Piero found a place to sign and we had a minute to hug and talk… He wanted to know how long I would be in Sicily and would I see them again. I said yes on Sunday… He smiled that big smile and said you mean you are coming to my hometown? I said yes and I got a hug for that… The guys were just surprised and very happy to see Deborah and I. We certainly had more time with them than most fans did…What can I say, it was better than any meet and greet because they made the extra time for us and we have been on cloud nine ever since…
Today was a long drive from Palermo to Canicatti .. We had our GPS take us to places we had never been before, however after the third time around we figured that was not where we wanted to be. After about and hour or more returning to dead ends, unpaved roads with paths that could not even be called a road, with huge pot holes so big that we were afraid we would lose the car in one of them. We decided to give up on the GPS and find the sign that said Canicatti … We were there in a short period of time but so stressed out that we just had to go to Max Cream and have a gelato to calm our nerves. We had a great conversation with our friend Max Messina…We checked into our B&B and relaxed and put this first episode together for all of you…
We had another great adventure tonight but we will keep you in suspense until tomorrow as our adventure continues…
On May 9th Piero was very busy. The GIRO D’ITALIA, stopped in Agrigento, and who lives near Agrigento? PIERO.
For those who do not know what GIRO D’ITALIA is, it is a cycling race in stages, very renowned internationally. This year the race started on May 4 from Jerusalem.
On Wednesday there was the fifth stage, starting from Agrigento.
And here’s who was at the start, who congratulated the cyclists.
Giro 04 Giro D’Italia – Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 05 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 06 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 07 Giro D’Italia – Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 08 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Giro 09 Giro D’Italia Agrigento 5/9/18
Piero says that the Sicilians have a unique way of welcoming people and cyclists will not forget this stage.
And here is Piero in the company of our esteemed Marino Bartoletti, who is an excellent sports journalist.
Here’s what Bartoletti wrote on his Facebook page:
“Even the champions of music, accustomed to the audiences of the world, when they live close to a beautiful reality involving the Giro d’Italia become almost children with wide eyes. It happened to Piero Barone of IL VOLO in his Agrigento. He wanted to photograph himself with the pink jersey, shaking hands with dozens of runners, admiring their availability and humility, which are also its characteristics. It was missing only, that Piero asked the autograph of Aru. I think I gave him a little gift that he will not forget.”
And here is the video of Bartoletti’s interview with our Piero.
Translation:
B=Dear Piero, great member of IL VOLO, do you know what this is? It is the “WITHOUT END” trophy, welcome to GIRO D’ITALIA.
P = Thank you, thank you, it’s an honor for me and a truly, a living experience.
B= I see you almost excited, you who live the great theaters, the great masses, the great moments.
P = To know new things is always a pleasure, it is good for everyone. When you phoned me to invite me, I had to free myself from some commitments, but it was really worth it.
B = Do we want to say that we are in Agrigento, and therefore at your house?
P = Yes, I’m from Naro, a village near here, but Agrigento is my land, I was born and raised here, and I keep coming often.
B = Do you love your land a lot?
P = I am in love with my land.
B = Then Piero, an unpublished day for you, what impression did you have of this GIRO D’ITALIA, now that the cyclists are aligning at the start?
P = Definitely I will bring it in my baggage of experiences, I am excited because the GIRO D’ITALIA belongs to everyone, all the riders will not forget this stage and we Sicilians, Agrigentini above all, we will not forget this great experience.
Very good Piero, with your presence you have done a great job!
I am so happy to say, “We did it, we did it!!” Penina and I made our first ever “Cappiddruzzo” di Ricotta…a Tortello in honor of Ignazio!
Jane says…
It was not hard. The recipe is very easy. (See earlier post from 11/6/17 for recipe.) I used the pre-made pizza dough you can buy in the refrigerator section at your grocery store. I have to add a correction to the original recipe…roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick, NOT 2-3 cm! The ricotta-chocolate chip-vanilla-cinnamon combination is delicious. I think they taste best just fresh out of the oven! Besides sprinkling the finished top with sifted powdered sugar, I dressed it up a little more with a drizzle of melted Nutella…all the while listening to IL VOLO serenading me in the back ground!
Penina says…
I found it very easy. The dough that I had came in a big thick rectangle. I was able to pull it apart into two thinner rectangles because the dough looked layered and I just turned up a corner and started pulling. It was a lot easier to roll it out that way as it was already a lot thinner. I started out doing what it said–folding it over twice. Then I had a lot of filling left, so I went back and cut off the parts that were just empty dough and re-rolled them and made a couple more to use up the filling. I have plenty of ricotta left–I may try it again with the pizza dough in a few days (after we eat these up!).
If you have bought dough this is a no brainer. How hard is it to stir up the ingredients? My grandkids could do it (okay, two of them couldn’t!). The hardest part is rolling out the dough.
Now we are ready to sit down with a cup of Lavazza coffee, and feast on our creations! The only thing missing is YOU, our fellow Flight Crew members. How we wish we could all sit together at the same table and share our friendship in person, while enjoying a special treat in tribute to Ignazio, (and of course we can’t forget his brothers, Piero and Gianluca!)
ENJOY…Godere!
Credit to owner of Ignazio photo and to Nina, for the inspiration of the Tortello!
I know some of you are probably wondering what I found out from Nina as to how she made the delicious looking
Tribute to Ignazio Tortello!
She very kindly replied that it is a “cappiddruzzo of ricotta.” The word cappiddruzzo, is a word in Sicilian jargon (thank you, Daniela) that means “hat.” This probably refers to the form of the tortello she shows in her photo above. With this to go on, I researched and found a recipe I will hope is similar to hers. No one could EVER totally replicate hers as only SHE can fill it with the amount of sibling lovethat permeates from her to her brother. But, we, as Flight Crew members and Il Volo lovers, can come close to it by adding OUR own special ingredient of LOVE FOR HIM/THEM!
One ball of pizza dough (can use pre-made pizza dough or pastry dough.)
Flour, for dusting
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of cinnamon
1 c ricotta
5 heaping cups of Ignazio/Il Volo Love and Admiration
Powdered sugar for dusting
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place dough on lightly floured surface.
Press down and form into a circle.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into approx. 12 inch circle about 2-3 cm thick. Trim off tiny piece of outer edge with crinkle edged cutter if you want a fancy edge at the end.
Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and press into the dough.
Cut circle in half. Trim straight edge with crinkle cutter if desired.
Mix remaining sugar, choc. chips, vanilla, cinnamon and ricotta with your love and admiration right here!
Place half the mixture on each dough piece. Fold the dough over the filling.
Seal the edges well with tines of a fork or your fingers.
Fold approx. 1/4 inch of the edge back over itself. Seal again with fork or your fingers to be sure you have a good seal.
Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, approx. 8-10 minutes.
After removing from oven can cool slightly and dust with sifted powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate syrup!! (Warm up a little Nutella for this!)
Godadellavostracreazione!!
Credit to all owners of photos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
