Anyone interested in spending the night in...

Anyone interested in spending the night in the slammer? We’ve run across some strange B&Bs;, but our ballot for the most bizarre goes to the Jail House Inn at Newport, R.I. This is an ex-lockup. Prisoners did time behind its wall for a couple of hundred years beginning in 1772. Robbers, burglars, arsonists. Until recently it served as a police station. Then entrepreneur Don Glassie spent nearly $1 million sprucing up the one-time hoosegow. Now it’s the only ex-lockup in the nation where law-abiding citizens pay to get inside.

Breakfast is served on metal plates. Coffee comes in tin cups. Just like Folsom. Even the bedding is striped. (The staff parades around in jail-house denims.)

Guests have a choice of accommodations in the “cell block,” “maximum security” or “solitary confinement.” A total of 22 rooms with private baths, color TV, telephones (amenities that former “guests” did without). Besides a continental breakfast, there’s afternoon tea.

Off-season rates: $55/$65. High season: $115/$125.

Jail House Inn, 13 Marlborough St., Newport, R.I. 02840. Telephone (401) 847-4638. If the idea of spending the night in the calaboose isn’t appealing, proprietor Glassie also operates Newport’s Yankee Peddler and the Harborside Inn.

Home Exchange

Sheila Roen of Home Exchange International in Woodland Hills tells us France and Italy offer the best exchange possibilities in Europe. In a year of high prices, this is one way to cut costs. Roen arranges exchanges for Paris apartments as well as homes in the French/Italian countryside. She has one particularly appealing property near Florence. Home Exchange International has been in the house-swapping business for eight years. Represents dozens of home/apartment owners. (Some California HEI clients have exchanged homes a number of times with Europeans.)

Last summer Roen swapped her own home in the San Fernando Valley for one in Italy. “My family and I spent six glorious weeks for a pittance of what it would have cost if we’d used hotels. In four side trips we visited the Alps, the lake districts, Tuscany and the Italian Riviera, returning each time to relax in our country home in northern Italy.” In addition to swaps, Roen books airline reservations and plans land arrangements. Her house swap registration fee is $40.

Home Exchange International, 22458 Ventura Blvd., Suite E, Woodland Hills 91364-1581. Call (818) 992-8990.

Passport Booklet

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about passports (and more) is set forth in a new booklet that’s offered free by United Van Lines. Sixteen pages of detailed information. Tells about various categories of passports, rules for identification, where to report a stolen or lost passport. This same booklet provides helpful information concerning visas, immunizations. For a copy of “Passports, Visas, Immunizations,” call United’s Bette Malone Relocation Service, toll-free at (800) 325-3870.

Paris Restaurant

Brad Kendall of Agoura wants the name of a restaurant on Paris’ Left Bank “where the Parisians go--someplace that caters to the natives, not just tourists.”

Try the Brasserie Lipp at 151 Blvd. St. Germain. A hangout for writers, painters, politicians. Francois Mitterrand drops in frequently. Yves Saint Laurent is another regular. It’s not cheap, but it’s enjoyable. If you’re not familiar, the waiters will probably lead you upstairs. Still, try for a table on the ground floor. It’s where the action is and where you’ll see the celebrities. If The Lipp is too pricey and you’re still looking for atmosphere, slip across the street to Aux Deux Magots for an espresso. This was one of Hemingway’s hangouts. Or else stop next door at Cafe de Flore with its lineup of sidewalk tables. Both Aux Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore are great people-watching spots. Mimes, fire eaters and others perform in the street. Characters pass the tables constantly. I remember a pretty girl who strolled by Aux Deux Magots with a kitten peering from her bosom. Aux Deux Magots: 170 Blvd. St. Germain.

Handicap

A couple of local tour operators are providing vehicles in New Zealand for the disabled. A coach that carries a dozen passengers in wheelchairs is operated by Atlantic & Pacific Travel, 230 N. Maryland Ave., No. 308, Glendale 91206. Call toll-free (800) 252-2156 in California or (818) 240-0538. Outside California the toll-free number is (800) 421-9020. Passengers are hoisted aboard by a hydraulically operated lift. Spacious aisles, air conditioning. Even a bed.

Meanwhile, camper-vans for families with a wheelchair companion are available through Horizon Holiday, 12077 Wilshire Blvd., No. 575, West Los Angeles 90025. Telephone (213) 452-9151. Room for a couple of adults, a child and the disabled passenger. Features a side-mounted hydraulic hoist. Rates: $79/$118 a day. The rig contains a microwave oven, hot water.

Cottage in the Cotswolds

Jeanette Obrymski writes: “I have a 400-year-old cottage in the peaceful village of Bampton in England’s Cotswolds. Two bedrooms. Completely self-contained, with all linens provided. Rates (May-October) are $60 a night ($400 per week) for four persons or $55 daily ($350 weekly) for two guests. April-November: $40 a night ($250 a week).” Contact Obrymski, 1629 Huntington Drive, Duarte, Calif. 91010, or telephone (818) 357-9400.

Adventure Travel

If you’re an adventure buff, a slick new catalogue (64 pages) has been produced by Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.). Tells about wilderness tours to Nepal, Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Bhutan, Tibet, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, South America, Central America, Bali, Australia. Dozens of other datelines. “Africa Overland” is described by O.A.T. as the “granddaddy of all safaris.” This is a 10,000-mile odyssey. Takes in 11 African nations (Morocco, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania). Crosses sand dunes in the Sahara, meets with Pygmies and Masai warriors. A beautiful book. Free by calling toll-free (800) 221-0814.

Reader Recommendations

Bali--Amy Lyn De Zwart, Long Beach: “For the budget traveler to Bali, the Kelapa Mas Bungalows in Candidasa are simple, clean, right on the beach and cost $6 U.S. a night double, including tea brought to your veranda each morning and breakfast in the restaurant. A peaceful, relaxing atmosphere.”

Bora Bora--Ray Miller, Avalon: “Colette Victor owns a small private island in the lagoon within Bora Bora’s reef. A charming cottage set back from the water’s edge, about 25 feet across a coral beach. No roads, telephones or TV. Perfect isolation with only hot days meant for swimming and sunning, and warm, dry nights with starlit skies. The cottage is absolutely inviting. Complete kitchen and outdoor shower, solar hot water, refrigerator, gas stove. Not for everyone, but this is the best place we’ve ever found for total relaxation. Costs about $100 U.S. a night. Contact Colette Victor, Vaitape, Bora Bora, French Polynesia.”

Mexico--Barbara McCarthy, Capistrano Beach: Writes highly of a train trip to Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico, with Rail Passenger Services, P.O. Box 26381, Tucson, Ariz. 85726, phone (602) 747-0378. The trips originate and terminate in Tucson and tour members travel on two old refurbished passenger cars boarded at Nogales for overnight to the canyon. Rates are $985 per person for roomettes and $1,185 per person for bedrooms.