I woke up with a start with the sun hitting my face through the bus window, realizing I fell asleep and I’m now high in the Tuscan hills in the small medieval town of Poppi. It’s bright and beautiful, and after days of city life this feels like the slow-paced break I need.

I was glad to get a small lesson in Italian, because after arriving in Italy I realized my duolingo preparation was not as strong as I had thought. Now, I can proudly say mi chiamo Brenna. After this, we took a bus to Castle de Romana and got a crash course in its history. It was interesting to hear all the back story while climbing among the Tuscan hills. While I might have professed I thought I would die on the way up the hill, I felt the power of the landscape at the top. The view was incredible. I had to search out a quiet moment so that I could fully appreciate it.

The next day, we explored Poppi castle. Its amazing how well preserved the castle is, considering all its weathered. I especially enjoyed looking around the dungeon and the tower. While the tierr offered an incredible view, the dungeon had a skeleton which was really creepy and really cool at the same time. It was crazy to find out they would put people in the bottom and starve them to death. My favorite was the library, although. It was so incredible to be around ancient books that are so well preserved. There was a grammar book from 1476 there. How sweet is that? Also, it was pretty intense reading Dante’s Inferno during a thunderstorm in a castle. I really loved hearing it in Italian so that I could hear the rhythm of it. I haven’t studied Dante, so I was glad to hear some of the main themes pointed out and context given to Dante’s life.

All in all, Poppi was rewarding and interesting, along with insanely beautiful. I couldn’t get over the view from my room in the Convent. Everything felt more peaceful and I felt so relaxed that I got eight hours of sleep. I wish I could do an extended stay in Poppi, because I feel like it’s a place where you would get more out of it being there for a long time. I would love to come back to the experience the town, people, and sights even further. It really has so much to offer (except maybe Wifi). Poppi is wonderful and sincere, and it welcomed me with open arms.