Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22

I have really been enjoying my time over here in Sochi, Russia. On this Friday in late June, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the sights of this beautiful place.



The Olympic rings are still at the airport here in Sochi.




This is the Olympic Arena in Sochi, 12,000 seats and located 300 yards from another arena with 7,000 seat. Fifty feet away two full-sized practice arenas.. The Black Sea Cup was held here with three Russian junior teams and one Czech team.





The hotel I'm staying at is spectacular and you can view the stadium from it.




This is the walkway from the arena to the hotel.




I get a view of the Black Sea from my balcony.




The practice rink is immaculate and seats 1,000 spectators.




The Black Sea Cup tournament was classy and well run. Have a great weekend everyone. Be back on Monday!

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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).

The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.

In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.