Before the Show Begins

Wanted to give just a brief glimpse of Natal, our host city for the first match of Group G in the round-robin stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The easternmost point in Brazil, Natal is actually closer to Africa, than the southernmost point in Brazil. Being a beach town, I naturally felt obliged to have a seafood dinner, before going to my room to watch the Argentine- Bosnia-Herzegovina match.

Oyster Stew and Ao Alho Poro, shrimp in a cream-based sauce, rice with shrimp sauce, and potatoes au gratin. Yep, yummy.

Waking up early, I felt obligated to take a walk down to the beach from our Holiday Inn Express, as it is essentially across the street.

On the walk back up to the hotel, had to chuckle when coming across a sign that indeed, they may be taking over the world...

And when I say walk 'up' to the hotel, this should give you some idea. That tall building on the skyline is the HI Express. It was NOT an express walk to return.

For a variety of purposes, need to get to the SMC (Stadium Media Center) at the stadium early, one of those purposes, of course, was to get up a couple of blog updates. Will follow up after the match with some game action imagery, and as you likely know me, some individualized commentary.

For now, simply: U! S! A!

All contents of this blog, written and photographic, are copyrighted 2014, all Rights Reserved, by Perry McIntyre - Atlanta, GA.