Rome to Naples takes about 70 minutes on the high speed train. Tickets cost us less than 25 euros each - special price, no change, no refund. Much of the way we were travelling close to 300kph. We can only wish for this type of travel in Australia (sigh). We travelled out of the city and through the countryside and arrived in Napoli Centrale at about 11.15am.
Garibaldi Square outside the station is a maze of construction works. This was the case 3 years ago and we thought it would be finished by now. We think it's worse! The Hotel San Pietro is about a 10 minute walk from the station and we check into spacious, comfortable rooms. Naples is so different to Rome. The streets are narrow and cobbled with markets and outdoor stalls everywhere. The city still seems "grubby". It starts off clean in the morning but by lunchtime there's plenty of rubbish around. The weather is great. Bright sunshine and a little warmer than Rome. It's a good city to walk around - although the cobbles can be a bit hard on our feet.
There are plenty of Christmas decorations here. Naples is noted for the Nativity Scenes, the presepe. These Christmas cribs are often decorated with moss. We've had a return visit to the Capella San Severo to see the beautiful sculptures from the 17th century.
One of the things on our list while we're here is a visit to Pompeii. A 40 minute suburban train trip sees us at this major heritage site. It's a perfect day to visit - bright sunshine, about 17C and no crowds.
It's easy to slip back in time as we wander around the archaeological site and imagine life as it was when the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD preserved the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, obliterating all life. At the time of the eruption Pompeii was still in renovation mode following an earthquake in 62AD.
The bath house with its elaborately carved ceiling has dressing rooms and a cold bath room and a hot bath room. Mosaic floors and brightly painted walls can still be seen in many buildings although many of the floors and frescoes have been moved to the Archaeological Museum in Naples - which we'll visit tomorrow. We can understand why they've been moved but it would be great to see them in situ in Pompeii.
The narrow streets are paved with large cobblestones and the main streets have wheel ruts carved by the iron rims on the cartwheels. We're able to walk through many of the houses and can easily image life 2,000 years ago. We look at the ancient Roman version of fast food stalls and shopfronts.
The Forum, temples and other civic buildings would have been a major hub for life here in ancient times. The Temple of Isis with its huge amphitheatre which held about 3,000 people provides a place to sit and reflect.
Back in Naples, we've got two things on our list to visit. The Naples Archaeological Museum now houses most of the mosaics, frescoes and artefacts from Pompeii.
The most striking thing about the frescoes and wall decorations is the brilliance of the colours. The walls of the houses were richly decorated. The museum has grouped the works according to the houses where they were found so it's easy to imagine the opulent lifestyle of some of the residents, especially after we've visited the houses yesterday.
Some of the larger houses occupied huge areas. They incorporated many rooms with both public and private areas. 
The museum also has works from other excavations in the Naples area.
The other place on our "must see" list is the Church of the Purgatorio ad Arco. The church of Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco was established in the early 17th century to pray for the souls in purgatory. The church was established at a time when there were many deaths in Naples due to an earthquake and pestilence. Those who were not able to be buried in a church were buried in this church in a mass grave. There are three levels of the church. At street level is the Upper Church with its, baroque decoration and opulence. Underneath is the Lower Church which has no decoration. Lower still was the mass grave. There three levels of the church reflect the unredeemed souls, the souls in purgatory and the souls in heaven. These are duplicated by the carved altar with the skull and wings being the unredeemed souls, the painting behind the altar reflects the souls in purgatory and the painting higher still, just below the cupola, reflects the souls in heaven. 
Women "adopted" a skull from the grave and would offer prayers to help the soul make the transition from purgatory to heaven. They would ask the soul to help them, often to find a husband, once in heaven. The lower church has the graves of the founders and benefactors of the church. There are many altars with skulls and bones. One significant altar is that of Lucia, a 17 year old girl who died of TB the day after her wedding. Her altar has her skull and wedding veil. Lucia is the protector of young brides. Women come to her altar and leave a gift - maybe a wedding ring or photo - in the hope that Lucia will help them to find a husband.
Another altar is that of Guilio Mastrillo and his wife. Guilin Mastrillo was a great benefactor of the church and his altar in the Lower Church is directly underneath his statue in the Upper Church. The original carved skull and wings can be found behind the ornate baroque marble altar. The balustrade is inlaid with many different coloured marbles. The black and grey marble is designed to give the appearance of holes in the balustrade although it is fully inlaid.
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