I've been excited about Euro 2012 for months, and watched practically every game since the tournament got underway nearly two weeks ago - so it was with excitement and trepidation that I made my way to Doncaster Sheffield airport on Sunday morning, to head to the Polish city of Gdansk, and taste the atmosphere for myself.
Excitement, because I've been dreaming of travelling to a major tournament to watch Eng-er-land for as long as I can remember. Trepidation, because I was travelling with Ryanair, and wasn't sure which way the wind was blowing.
Upon arrival at Gdansk airport, we hopped on a bus to make the half hour (ish) trip into the city to meet one of my mates*, and I must say, in my schoolboy-like excitement, I was pretty underwhelmed that there were no major signs of life - although, it was only midday. We checked into the hotel and headed straight out.
Guide book at the ready, we hailed a taxi. Let's just say that, tearing through the interlocking streets of Gdansk listening to sweary polish rap music, my opinion on Poland's fourth-largest city quickly changed.
Split into three areas, the city is known locally as Trojmiasto, and consists of Sopot, Gdanyia and Gdansk - oh, and I must try Zurek. It's amazing what you can learn in a taxi (thanks Wadoslaw).
He dropped us off at the 'fans zone' - a huge area in Zebran Ludowych Square, wall-to-wall with big screens showing games and highlights, which can hold up to 30,000 fans - and even though it was early afternoon, there was plenty of activity in the area.
The Irish were due to play Italy the next day in Poznan (around 200 miles away), but I spotted a surprising number of green shirts still milling around the area, three days after their 4-0 drubbing by world champions Spain.
Amid criticism from Roy Keane for being too easily satisfied with 'coming along for a sing song', the Irish fans I spoke to said they were leaving with no regrets - after all, their downfall wasn't lack of effort, but lack of quality.
Yes it's become a bit of a cliché now - but speaking to other fans in the area, from Polish to Spanish to Italian, you really do get the impression that the presence of the Irish and their fans is seen as a major benefit to the tournament...and the local bar owners weren't complaining either.
One said it would be interesting to see whether the Irish team turned up at Dublin airport to welcome home the fans, and he does have a point - by all accounts, the Irish faithful did themselves proud this year.
Speaking to one group of Italian fans, I was surprised that they see their side as real contenders this year. Obviously, we know all about Mario Balotelli - and he has already lived up to his Jekyll and Hyde reputation this tournament, and Cassano is much the same. But even at the prospect of facing us in the next round - make no mistake - the Azzurri are confident.
I managed to purchase some tickets for Spain v Croatia on Monday night. The stadium is decked out in reflective panelling which, in the sun, does make it look a little like an Argos gold-plated bracelet, but also means it treads a fine line between futuristic, and a little bit 1970s.
The attendance was around 39,000. The atmosphere was great but it was a largely drab affair, in which Spain enjoyed the lion's share of possession but created, well, nothing. In the end - nerves frayed - their blushes were spared by an 88th minute Jesus Navas winner. But by 'eck they were boring.
It was time for a fiesta and, with the Spanish contingent in full force, we conducted some extensive research into the local nightlife (impressed), before making our way by train to Warsaw this morning.
Sounds simple enough - but that journey took us nearly six hours. The transport system is like nothing else I've experienced before - late, cramped, and slow. National Rail, all is forgiven.
So here I am, in the capital, Warsaw. I've just watched England beat the Ukraine in impressive fashion, and I'm delighted with the way we seem to be going about our campaign in an understated and consistent fashion.
Betting
With qualification to the quarter finals in the bag, and Wayne Rooney notching on his return to action tonight, he suddenly becomes a key player in the race for the Golden Boot - but he's still available at cracking odds.
No individual player has really made his mark as yet - and the current crop of top goalscorers on 3 (Mandzukic, Gomez, Dzagoev) has been severely depleted as Croatia and Russia were dumped out at the weekend.
Clearly, Gomez is favourite to top the charts, but with the Germans drawn against the Greek trojan horse in the next round, I don't think he'll notch too many in that.
I think that Rooney is worth a small bet at 43.042/1 - if we are to make it to the final, he will be a key player for us, and a goal or two in our next game will see his odds drop massively.
It might be patriotic, but I'm allowed aren't I - just for tonight?
*A bit of background info here - one of my oldest friends is currently working in Poland, which was a major factor in us making the trip over to experience the tournament. He works in Bydgoszcz (and no, a cat didn't just walk over my keyboard), which is roughly halfway between Gdansk and Poznan, the other venue for the Group C games.
