World Cup, 2014

Well, the World Cup is underway in Brazil.  The opening ceremonies, along with the opening game, was on Thursday, June 12th.  Brazil won 3 to 1 against Croatia.  Here is the website:  http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html.

Ecuador's first game is on Sunday, June 15th (Father's Day).  They play against Switzerland.

And the USA's first game will be on Monday, June 16th against Ghana.

Soccer (or futbol as it's called here) is one of the world's most popular sports.  In case you want to read more about the World Cup, please see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup.

I'll be rooting for Ecuador and the USA.  Who will you be rooting for?

Approaching our village, Vernazza, by boat from Monterosso al Mare

As a side note:  In 2006, the final game of the World Cup was played between Italy and France in Germany.  We were on vacation in Italy in a small town called Vernazza at the Cinque Terre.  That night, we were watching the final game in our apartment and around midnight the church bells started playing as Italy scored the winning goal in a shootout.  The entire town exploded in joy as the piazza filled with  the happy celebrants.  The celebration continued on through the night and the next morning, they had their world champion Tee-shirts on sale.  What an experience!