We bought tickets to one World Cup game in Atlanta. We got them through the lottery last fall, and, at the time, we had no idea which countries would be playing in the game. I was very excited this spring when I learned that Spain would be playing, as they were favored (at the time) to win the tournament.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium was built about 10 years ago, and it is a beautiful stadium.

We’ve been there to watch a few Atlanta United soccer games.

We also got to go on a private tour of the building with some of my Gensler colleagues in 2019. The stadium is used for the Atlanta United soccer team and also for the Atlanta Falcons football team.

Due to FIFA rules, there were some transformations to the stadium for the World Cup. First of all, the US football field size is about 10 yards narrower than a FIFA soccer field, so some of the lower spectator seating was removed to widen the field. Also, FIFA doesn’t allow any commercial branding, so the Mercedes-Benz signage on the facade was covered up, and the stadium is temporarily called Atlanta Stadium. The ban on branding also translated inside where locally branded concession areas were given generic names. Even the branding on things like condiment bottles and restroom soap dispensers had to be covered up. Crazy. 

We went to the game with Chad’s sister, Michele, and our friend Hans and approximately 68,000 other people. It was so much fun to watch the game live and in person and feel the energy of a stadium full of people.

My favorite part, though, was being in a crowd with people from all over the world and speaking a variety of languages. We met Saudi Arabians on the way inside, and some guys from Guatemala sat behind us during the game. It was so cool to be part of a global community event.

After the game, we walked around the area, in the intense summer heat, to check out the pop-up shops in the Gulch area (lame) and to visit the newly renovated former CNN center which so far seems to only be a re-do of the food court (also lame).

We then headed back to Marta for the short ride home. We got home around 4pm and did nothing for the rest of the day, exhausted from the heat. But the experience was totally worth it.

Today marks the 250th birthday of the U.S.A. This is a significant milestone and there should be a happy sense of national pride. Instead, Donald Trump has politicized the day and polarized the nation over the last year and a half. There is a failed State Fair on the National Mall where several states have declined to participate. Trump has announced that he is going to give a speech before the DC fireworks show and that he will speak for hours just to show people that he can do so. There’s the saga of the algae in the Reflecting Pool and the subsequent arrests of visitors who had nothing to do with the water quality problem. Of course, these are minor things compared to the litany of terrible things that this administration has unleashed. I’ll leave that there for now.

I remember the 200th anniversary in 1976. I would have been 5 years old, but I remember going to watch the fireworks with my family and understanding that it was a big year for the U.S.A. It’s funny how things stick with you and you can remember them 50 years later.

Here in Atlanta, Chad and I don’t typically go anywhere to watch fireworks. During the first years that we were in our house, we could see the fireworks in downtown Atlanta from our top porch. Since then, though, the trees have grown tall enough that we no longer see downtown. Maybe we can see the show if we stand in the middle of the street in front of our house. Technically, it’s a clear shot to downtown (and I know this since I walk that way to work).

During my Italian lesson this morning, my tutor, Francesco, asked me if people truly celebrate the Fourth as a significant day of independence. I told him (in Italian, of course) that I think most people just treat it as another summer holiday by going to the lake, grilling, drinking beer, similar to Memorial Day or Labor Day. Of course, people do recognize it as the birthday of our country, but for most it’s a day off of work and a day to hang out with family and friends. However, I do appreciate what we have in this country, despite the current administration, and I feel fortunate to be an American.

In lieu of posting photos of fireworks, here are photos of summertime flowers this week. We have new flowers blooming in our yard.

And there are lots of flowers blooming around the neighborhood.

There’s a big patch of yellow flowers along the creek in Springvale Park:

There were yellow irises blooming along this creek in April:

I don’t know what kind of tree this is, but these spiky balls are interesting:

I like how this grass is seeding:

And finally, there’s this bad boy. Agave plants, also known as century plants, store up energy for years and then bloom once when they are somewhere 8-30 years old. This plant is 10 years old. When the flower stalk first appeared, it grew 4 feet in 10 days! The stalks grow to 15-20 feet, and flowers appear within 1-2 months. After flowering, the main plant dies over the course of 3-6 months. This yard had another agave that bloomed last year, and it was cool to walk by it over the months and see the changes. That plant died over a few months and is no longer there. There is a third agave in the yard, so maybe it will bloom next year.