It's been a bit of a whirlwind few days since arriving in Brazil but you can really get a sense of just how much football - not only the World Cup - is loved here.
The fact that the greatest show on earth is in Brazil has simply heightened that excitement and the locals are just pleased to have everyone in their backyard.
Our hotel sits next to Sao Conrado beach, just up the road from Ipanema and then further along to Copacabana. We have to make the journey to the training group and The FA media centre in Urca along the beach road every morning.
Sao Conrado beach
It's a long slog in the traffic, but it could be worse as we watch people jogging, cycling, dancing - all sorts - along the vibrant boulevards.
From the very limited areas of Rio I've seen so far, it's a city of real diversity and is a huge part of popular culture, and the World Cup only adds to it, with fans from every corner of the globe gearing up for this festival of football.
That trip to training has us singing well-known songs inspired by two of the beaches, and even training is in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain. It played a pivotal role in Moonraker, as James Bond tries to shrug off the attentions of the assassin Jaws on the cable car across during his mission to put a stop to Hugo Drax's evil schemes.
It's a fantastic setting to play football, a military camp with its own beaches - one side of the pitch is open to the sea - but in fairness to my colleagues in The FA's Communications department, in particular Jo Budd who has overseen the operation, the other side is also very impressive.
The main building next to the pitch at Urca houses the media centre which has been planned and put together by Jo and her team to ensure the press who are following England have everything they need to get their content out back home.
Being so close to things, I see just what effort and preparation goes into everything - being at a World Cup is a huge operation. From the playing side, the measures that are taken to ensure no stone is left unturned, to administration, logistics, technology and media, there has been months of hard work going into this.
I'd love to take some credit for it, but really I've had very little to do with it, but it does make me proud to know that I work with some world class operators.
Ultimately it is all about what goes on on the pitch and the feeling inside the camp is really positive, the lads are all embracing this opportunity and can't wait to get started.
The FA's media centre entrance at Urca
We've had a couple of trips out with some of the players, too. On Monday five of them came to a sports complex five minutes from the hotel to mix with the local kids who benefit from this terrific facility.
It's at the foot of Rio's biggest favela, Rocinha, and a bridge brings people across a main road to make the most of the football, volleyball, boxing, swimming and judo on offer. Everyone loved to see the players get involved, particularly Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck who took part in a Capoeira demonstration.
The night before I'd spoken to Sturridge about the trip and he promised to do a quick interview with me at the centre. He was with Welbeck when I collared him between signing autographs for the kids and the result, edited by FATV producer Jon, was great. The energy and enthusiasm of the England pair were plain to see.
It was similar when Phil Jagielka and James Milner went up the road on Wednesday to meet with invited members of englandfans, the official supporters club, at a special question and answer session.
They have a good rapport with each other anyway, and had some great laughs with the supporters who posed some really good questions. I think everyone enjoyed the afternoon and those who have travelled over to follow the Three Lions got a little bit closer to their idols.
The players themselves, though, are really engaging with the fans, more so this tournament than ever before. Most of them are on Twitter or Instagram, or both, with many new accounts springing up since we've been away.
Sugarloaf Mountain, and the cable car from Moonraker
The messages and pictures that are being posted are illustrating just how much they are enjoying being part of the World Cup.
Arriving in Manaus on Thursday after a four-hour flight, we were greeted by the heat and an army of local football fans just desperate to get a glimpse of Premier League stars like Gerrard, Rooney and Sturridge.
When we caught up with Leighton Baines for an interview after the opening game, he said that it made the World Cup start to feel very real. Each time Brazil scored in their opening victory over Croatia, you could hear from our hotel fireworks going off across the city - it was an amazing light show watching these flashes across the sky from my hotel room.
After the game, I popped outside the hotel briefly to see how hot it was. It had turned 6pm - which is when England kick-off against Italy - it was dark and a light breeze made it a very pleasant evening.
Hopefully we can have another pleasant evening on Saturday. The waiting is nearly over...
FA Editor Jamie Bradbury is with the England team for the World Cup and will be bringing us regular updates here and via Twitter @England and @jamiebradbury
