"Welcome to the oldest city in Europe" is a phrase you'll hear wherever you go in the Bulgarian town of Plovdiv.
Located 150 kilometres south of Sofia, or in traveller terms, a two-hour trek down the road from the capital’s airport.
When I say trek, it’s mainly motorway all the way, aside from one slight detour early in the voyage, as the multi-tasking, multimedia marvel Errol jumped the gun a touch early – 114 kilometres to be exact – hopping off at the wrong exit.
First impressions can make or break a city visit, so when a heated, homemade cookie is presented along with the room key, the positivity begins to flow.
And when it comes to the Ireland national team, positivity is very much a valued commodity, as the team begin their quest to avoid relegation from League B of the UEFA Nations League.
Late arrival, early start; it was a case of blitzing the breakfast buffet before hitting the road for the short stroll to the Hristo Botez Stadium for the pre-match press conference.
The previous night’s snowfall had thankfully been replaced by a perfectly blue sky, and while it was only showing up as four degrees Celsius on the weather app, you could feel the heat building upon arrival at the impressive, if compact, Plovdiv arena.
The team would be along shortly to enjoy a run out on the turf, as is the protocol on what UEFA like to call matchday minus one, but first up the obligatory press conference with Heimir Hallgrimsson and captain Nathan Collins.
A stop-start affair, truth be told, with every question needing translating, and every answer…you’ve guessed it.
Guaranteed at least one "you’ll have to wait and see when the team is named", and sure enough it came along right on cue, as the goalkeeper question was posed, with the recent regular Caoimhin Kelleher getting less club minutes on the pitch than either Gavin Bazunu or Mark Travers.
But there was plenty of talk of all areas of attack and defence – a bit like a Jack Charlton selection, bypassing midfield – and the manager did offer insight as to where his thinking lay.
Open to interpretation of course, as Hallgrimsson spoke of Evan Ferguson: "I believe he can start…a little disappointed he hasn't played more minutes after changing clubs, but his time will come for sure."
Hallgrimsson spoke of his growing admiration for new recruit Rocco Vata, "he can be a match-winner for us in the future", and Troy Parrott, "he's been impressive".
The manager was also full of praise for Robbie Brady saying, "his presence is very important, he has experience to share, and his left foot is crazy good with crosses".
"Since I came, he’s probably been our most consistent player. I’m really happy with him."
If the manager was still unsure of his starting XIon the eve of the game, he still had one more night to sleep on his decision, as the official team is not announced until around 90 minutes before kick-off.
And when Hallgrimsson did finally put his head down on the plush Doubletree Hilton pillows at the nearby team hotel, it is safe to say that he did not dream of a team of Gary Breens.
"A very popular chant among Ireland fans around the time of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea", however, Hallgrimsson appeared abhorred at the idea of loading up the team with centre-halves to score from set-pieces.
"You say it like a centre-back is the goal scorer for us. I think strikers are good at set-pieces as well. No?" responded Hallgrimsson to a selection question.
"Whether we need to fill the team with centre backs, I don’t think so."
It was time to take things outside, as the squad sauntered onto the surface for a gentle warm-up in the strengthening sunshine, before moving into their passing drills and onto a tactical session.
A sizeable Irish contingent will be present and will surely make themselves heard in the 18,777 capacity arena, home of local side Botev Plovdiv, who currently sit fourth in the Bulgarian top tier.
Both Botev, the club, as they are known locally, and therefore the stadium, are both named after Bulgarian poet, revolutionary and national hero, Hristo Botev.
Another famous Hristo is celebrated in these parts, perhaps the greatest of all Bulgarian footballers, Hristo Stoichkov, who guided the national team to the World Cup semi-finals back in 1994.
"This [Plovdiv] is the biggest and loveliest of all towns. Its beauty shines from faraway," wrote renowned scribe Lucian, and when you ramble around the city’s old town and marvel at the incredible, and still largely intact, Roman Theatre of Philippopolis, it is hard to argue.
Plovdiv’s claim to be the oldest town in Europe does hold some weight as it transpires, with ancient artefacts found, which date back to around 6000BC, while its place in the Roman empire, serving as the capital of the province Thrace, is still very evident throughout the city.
Wikipedia will tell you that "during its long history, Plovdiv has been conquered by numerous peoples: Thracians, Macedon, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians and Ottoman Turks".
Heimir Hallgrimsson will be hoping to add his name to that list tonight.
Watch Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on an extended 2fm's Game On.
