It's amazing to be in a place that at one time was the center of the world. I took a million pictures and I could say a million words but nothing can capture the feeling of being in Rome.

On our first day (I traveled with EF College Break Tours), we went on a walking tour of the city. Our first stop was the Colosseum. The Colosseum is a must for any tourist in Rome because we have all read about it in our high school history books, but nothing is like standing inside this monumental structure and feeling like an ant.

From there we went, umbrellas in hand, to the ruins behind the Colosseum. The ruins were excavated relatively recently and are a must-see. There are temples to specific gods and decorated arches depicting scenes of slave trade and, surprisingly, some Jewish culture. It's awe-inspiring to see these structures that stood long before I arrived and will continue to endure the constant test of time long after I will be gone.

The whole experience was amazing. I would recommend it to anyone else, and I would do it again. I usually enjoy soaking up culture more than I do being an average tourist, but I'm happy I spent the day seeing historical landmarks.

The Colosseum, also called the "Flavian Amphitheatre" after its builders, the emperors Vespasian and Titus, both of the Flavian family, started to be constructed around 70 AD and was completed in 80 AD. As they love to tell on the tour, its opening was celebrated with 100 days of games in which thousands of animals and gladiators were killed. Occasionally the Colosseum was flooded in order to stage small naval battles. The emperor had his own entrance to the Colosseum, and from his private box seat he decided the fate of defeated gladiators. The Colosseum was used regularly for almost 400 years and has been through every natural and man-made disaster imaginable.

Its architecture is elliptical and is constructed of brick and a relatively soft, porous rock called tufa, although its exterior is covered in marble. The floor of the arena was wood covered with sand, and beneath the floor was a maze of passageways and temporary holding pens for the animals and gladiators. When it was time for a grand appearance, a hand-operated "elevator" of sorts was used to pulley the men and animals from the basement up to the arena floor. The walls of the subterranean passageways can still be seen today (see photo).

Each story of the Colosseum represents a different period of history in its architecture. The lowest level have Doric columns, the second level Ionic columns, and the third has Corinthian. One of my favorite parts of the history was learned about the Vestal Virgins. These were young girls who devoted their lives to the Goddess Vesta, goddess of the hearth, and as virgins, they were afforded the best seats in the house. As the priestesses of Vesta, they were charged with maintaining the sacred fire within the Temple on the Forum Romanum. They were the only female priests within the roman religious system and vowed to live in chastity for the 30 years their tenure lasted. The punishment for breaking the vow of chastity was death by burial alive, the only way to kill a vestal without shedding her blood. Definitely go for the paid guided tour! We thought it might be a rip-off at $10 per person, but it was worth every penny, especially since nothing inside was labeled.

The existing structure has been buttressed in modern times with brickwork and metal bracing to support it against earthquakes and the passage of time, but it is remarkably intact. The stadium floor was originally made of wood and covered with sand (or arena in Latin, which is where we get the name for a sporting venue), but is obviously missing now. Beneath the arena was a vast staging area where gladiators dressed and prepared for the fights, and where exotic animals were kept prior to battle.

I would recommend arranging for a guided tour, for there isn't much information available there unless you buy a guidebook, and the details are rather scant even then. There are tour guides offering their services outside, but they are hit-and-miss as far as quality or historical accuracy.