With so many people asking me about how my trip to the World Cup in Brazil was, I decided to put some things down on paper to curb the mass questions and reflect on a memorable trip to give my observations of a country that is worth being explored.

Here's my list of memories from Brazil 2014.

1. Safer than advertised

As usual, the media tried to put everyone into frenzy about dangerous protests, unfinished stadiums and robberies. Fortunately, I didn't get to discover any of that. Safety was at an all-time high and I never felt worried about having someone swipe my wallet or try to steal anything. It's all about being street smart and staying in the right locations. There is certainly a propensity for crime in Brazil, but if you know how to avoid it, it won't find you.

2. Red meat paradise

This may be something that everyone may not be a fan of, but if you love steak, as I do, then you won't find many places better to indulge in some quality red meat. It's served practically everywhere, with some favorable condiments of chopped tomatoes and onions, along with a powdery substance that tastes like crushed cornmeal. Great food and beer, which is every football fans dream, right?

3. The landscape

With Rio de Janeiro being my only real frame of reference here, it's really all you need to make a broad statement of cities across Brazil's coast. With great beaches up and down the coast, accented by majestic forests and mountains, along with the typical tourist sites like Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer statue, it truly has wonderful escapes from the beach, if you aren't fond of laying in sugary sand surrounded by beautiful women.

4. Brazilian girls

You never can understand this statement unless you've been there to see it, but everything they say about Brazilian girls is true. I won't get into it, but you can Google it and I can confirm it. With this being the winter time in Brazil, the beaches weren't as packed as their summer months, but it was still a wonderful sight.

5. Cab drivers

This can be a mixed bag when you're talking about cabs and their drivers. Most taxi cabs are about the size of a compact car, but some of them drive like Dale Earnhardt. Maneuvering the streets of Brazil is something that can be a tricky endeavor if you don't understand their various lanes that merge suddenly into one pool of cars. Cutting people off is normal and riding someone inches from their bumper seems to be a necessity. Certainly a bag of fun times every time you stepped into a car.

6. FIFA Fan Fest in Rio

There will never be a better site in my life to watch a sporting event than there was at Copacabana beach in Rio. If you're watching the World Cup at all on ESPN, it's the familiar site on the beach with a giant big screen caressed right next to the water. It's simply the best place I've ever watched a game on television or in person. The tip of the trip was to not actually go inside the Fan Fest, since it was packed with over 10,000 people, rather watch the game on the beach right outside of the perimeter. There, you got a seat on the beach, drinks served to you and the best bathroom in the world being the ocean. Yeah, that's how it was and I'll never forget it.

7. Lack of English speakers

Brazil was really the first country I've ever visited where I had trouble communicating. Not many people, including the youth, spoke English. It was more a secondary issue, since we were always with native Brazilians, but I could have had a lot more trouble getting around and ordering food if I was on my own.

8. Separation of classes

If you thought there was a divide between the upper, middle and lower classes in the United States, the gap in Brazil is of epic proportions. We never made our way anywhere near the favelas in Rio, because it was best seen from your car on the highway. A mountain of houses packed like sardines along the hillside is a majestic sight at night, which is how our friends wanted to leave it. You can certainly sense that the rich didn't mix with the poor, but how uncommon is that in reality? The bottom line is that in a third world country, the divide is something you feel more than you see.

9. Being a Gringo

There aren't many times in my life where I felt like an alien walking through a restaurant, but in Brazil it was commonplace. Being a Gringo, which is a common term used to describe English-speaking foreigners, especially Americans, isn't meant to be disparaging, so they say, so you roll with it. But it certainly does make you feel different walking around. It's a humbling experience.

10. Brazil is worth a return trip

With the 2016 Summer Olympics taking place in Rio, the sports world will again converge to Brazil. I would suggest to anyone to go back, as Rio is a city that certainly deserves more than three nights of your attention. With so many tourists packed into the beach areas and downtown areas, it felt like a universal city. If you've never experienced that in your life, it's something worth venturing into. I would certainly go back to Rio, but I don't think my girlfriend will let me.