good to hear you are getting better. feels good destroying mobs that use to give ya trouble with ease =) made a couple trips back myself to those werewolves on the bridge and that giant by those birds to farm for blood vials BECAUSE holy shit blood-starved beast gave me so much trouble last night ( i ended up looking up strats online ) let me know if you want any tips when you reach him, if ya need help.
yea i enjoyed the sewers too. so you are near father gascoigne after you exit the sewers up the ladder, don't forgot to pull the lever on the left near ya for the elevator so you can open up a shortcut.
one thing i've come to realize and i saw a few people complain about is lack of checkpoints/lamps but the more you play and explore there are gates/doors/ladders etc you come across that give you a shortcut to a new path, usually near a boss.
also great to hear ya having fun, it definitely takes a sort of mindset to not get frustrated and want to just curse at the screen/break something lol just have fun. realize you will have to do some grinding for potions/echos, etc. boss fights are always a learning experience. it's more like don't expect to beat it at the beginning, go in there be patient learn it's moves/ animations when to time your attacks, etc.
once you get bit further you start getting some good loot and stuff, upgrades, etc.
but man, nothing like the first play through on a game like this. every new area, boss, mob, weapon, etc just makes me excited.