This year instead of the usual sun and sand, I spent spring break discovering Rome.

One of the first things I saw in Italy was the Roman Colosseum. It is massive and beautifully built with stadium seating like those of today. It has stunning arches and staircases around every corner and an intricate maze of tunnels where animals and slaves were kept.

It was an amazing experience to walk amidst the ruins of the empire that ruled the world two thousand years ago.

Much has been destroyed through the years as marble was stolen for churches and the forum left as a pasture from cows. I could still imagine what life must have been like in the massive empire. 

I also saw the Pantheon, a temple built in 126 A.D. that is considered by some to be the most perfect work of architecture ever. I marveled at its dome that even Michelangelo studied for inspiration for the dome of St. Peter's basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica is a breathtaking cathedral built over Constantine's original basilica in Vatican City. The exterior is immaculately decorated with sculptures, a beautiful façade, and the largest dome in the city after that of the Pantheon.

Standing on the Prime Meridian in front of St. Peter's felt like standing in the center of the world. Inside, there is not a square inch of wall or ceiling space that is not gilded, painted, or covered by an intricate statue.

St. Peter's ornate interior is amazing to see, but I thought it almost excessive. It looks as if a million artists were wrestling to get a spot for their work inside and they threw everything in at once.

I stomped grapes and ate excellent Italian food. I experienced some of the greatest art in the world. I saw centuries of architecture intermingling in one historical city and realized what "ancient" really means. Fighting through the crowd of tourists, I saw the sculpture I had most wanted to see in Rome-Michelangelo's Pieta.

It was more amazing than I expected and mind-blowing to see in person. I marveled at the perfectly carved human form, the draped clothing, and the emotion in Mary's face. A bulletproof plastic wall now protects the sculpture because some years ago, a man attacked it with a hammer.

Next door in the Vatican Museum, I saw the Sistine Chapel and spent what felt like forever trying to catch every detail of Michelangelo's ceiling.

I could have spent years studying its intricate design, the perfectly proportioned bodies and the stories Michelangelo told with a brush, but by then my neck was hurting. I left the chapel with a crick in my neck and a new appreciation for the masterpiece I had only seen in textbooks.

Later in the week, we journeyed down the coast of Italy to the Bay of Naples to visit the ancient ruins of Pompeii. An important port for the Roman Empire, Pompeii's wealth ended suddenly when it was covered in up to 20 meters of ash from Mt. Vesuvius' explosion.

Though lava never touched Pompeii, poisonous gases from the explosion suffocated the people and no one had time to escape. It was left preserved under the ash for hundreds of years.

Now excavated, Pompeii stands miraculously well preserved. I walked through the streets of the village, observing the shops and expensive homes that had once lined them. I even saw plaster molds of the bodies of people found trying to escape the gas and ashes.

The weak dollar hit my wallet pretty hard and Rome took most of my money. However, what I took from Rome is worth much more.

I stomped grapes and ate excellent Italian food. I experienced some of the greatest art in the world. I saw centuries of architecture intermingling in one historical city and realized what "ancient" really means. These are just a few things from Rome that made Spring Break 2008 incredible.