To the many readers who continue to...

To the many readers who continue to inquire about home rentals in Britain, drop a note to Blandings, The Old Vicarage, France Lynch, Stroud, Gloucester GL6 8LN, England. Blandings represents 64 properties in England, Scotland, Wales. Domestic help provided on request (cooks, nannies, housekeepers). Several homes feature swimming pools/tennis courts. Accommodations range from charming little cottages in the Cotswolds to an eight-bedroom home and a castle in Scotland. Kitchens are stocked with groceries. Rentals start at 180 a week. Color brochures (available on request) feature photos and descriptions of all 64 listings. Other information from Vera G. Williams Inc., 2841 29th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. Call (202) 328-1353.

For travelers seeking private accommodations in London, write to Home Hosts, 48 Heathfield Road, London W3 8EJ. Details on other rental companies available from the British Tourist Authority in Los Angeles, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 450, Los Angeles 90071, phone (213) 628-3525. This same office will mail you information/brochures on dozens of destinations in Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) as well as details on the attractions of London.

Britain/France/Germany/Spain

In addition to Britain, Host & Guest Service of London lists homes in France, Germany, Spain. The difference here is that you share the home with the owner. Provides an opportunity to practice a foreign language, sample home-cooked meals. The same company places young women with families to help with housework, care for youngsters. In some cases wages are offered as well as room/board.

Host & Guest Service, 592a Kings Road, London SW6 2DX.

Dining in London

Discovered an excellent restaurant in London recently with Fred Pearson, who heads up the city’s popular Take-A-Guide sightseeing service. Unfamiliar to tourists, but well-known to Londoners. It’s called La Finezza. The menu lists some great pastas, including crespoline (pancakes stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese). Other items: langoustine, calamari , granchio (crab in a sauce of black beans, herbs, tomatoes), sole with prawns in a cream/bechanel sauce, scampi with mushrooms, cream and brandy. In season, La Finezza serves Loch Fyne oysters, partridge, wild duck, grouse. The Gamberetti cocktail is popular with patrons (prawns served on a bed of lettuce with a zesty sauce). Besides the Italian specialties, the restaurant turns out fish, chicken, pepper steaks.

La Finezza, 62-64 Lower Sloane St., London SW1. (Note: Crowded at the lunch hour when business executives choose this fine restaurant for luncheon gatherings with clients.)

Route Jacques Couer

A charming French woman, Countess Marie-France de Peyronnet, is attracting American tourists to 17 chateaux and abbeys along a 120-mile stretch starting north of the Loire River near Gien and ending in the village of Culan south of Bourges. It’s called the Route Jacques Coeur. Thirteen of the 17 chateaux/abbeys are privately owned/occupied. At Ainay-Le-Vieil, visitors exchange pleasantries with Baroness Jeraud d’Aligny in a 50-room chateau her family has occupied since 1467. Louis XII was a visitor. A music box belonging to Marie Antoinette is displayed along with a medallion given to the baroness’ family by Napoleon I.

Two of the chateaux welcome overnight guests. In the village of Farges-Allichamps near Bourges, candlelight dinners are served to visitors occupying eight luxuriously appointed rooms (800/1,000 francs for two persons). North of Bourges, other shelter is offered at the 15th-Century Chateau La Verrerie. Says Count De Vogue, the owner: “We offer all the comfort and amenities of a first-class hotel and the special cachet of a private country home.” Breakfast in bed, tennis, bicycling, riding. Set in a forest overlooking a lake. Travelers also have a wide choice of small, friendly inns along the Route Jacques Coeur. Count De Vogue (with his wife) lives on the property. Excellent sources for information on sightseeing in this particular area.

Other details/brochures from Marie-France de Peyronnet, 1 Rue Madame, 75006 Paris, France.

Hotel Recommendations

Jacques Bacon spends two months a year touring France, Germany, Italy, seeking out little-known hotels, chateaux, country inns. Having inspected more than 1,000 properties, Bacon is choosey. On Capri he represents the five-star Scalinatella, as well as others along Italy’s Amalfi Drive (Positano, Ravello). In the 9th-Century village of Eze, on the French Riviera between Nice and Monaco, Bacon sends guests to a favorite of ours, Chateau Eza, a hotel perched 1,300 feet above the Mediterranean, with terraces overlooking more than 100 miles of coastline. Chateau Eza, with its seven deluxe rooms, is the former home of Prince William of Sweden. Antiques and an $80,000 Oriental rug. Rates: $70/$350 U.S. a night. Chateau Eza is only a short drive either from Nice or Monaco. Bacon also handles ski properties in Val d’Isere, Meribel, Courchevel and other French ski resorts. Contact Bacon c/o Jacques de Larsay Inc., 622 Broadway, New York 10012. Bacon will supply rate information on dozens of properties.

Jet Vacations

Packages combining air fare transfers, hotels, meals at French ski resorts are being offered for the winter season by Jet Vacations. Resorts include Chamonix, Courchevel, Meribel, Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Val d’Isere. Courchevel alone offers nearly 300 miles of ski terrain. Skiers choose from 30 types of accommodations. A week in a condo apartment at Chamonix figures out to $748 per skier. This is the price from New York. Add $120 for air fare from LAX. Departures starting Dec. 16.

See your travel agent or contact Jet Vacations in Beverly Hills, toll-free at (800) JET-0999 or (213) 652-0999.

Bahama Rentals

A. C. of Newhall wants a rental in the Bahamas. On the island of Eleuthera we’ve learned of an ocean-front home that rents for $590 a week in the off-season (high season begins Dec. 16). Restaurants, stores close by. Accommodates two couples or a family of four. Write to Fantasia, 2402 Baywood Drive, West Dunedin, Fla. 34698, or call (813) 736-3201. Also on Eleuthera, a couple of villas (two bedrooms, two baths) are available for $345/$795 a week. Contact Bill Brenner, 10645 Jones Bridge Road, Alpharetta, Ga. 30201, phone (404) 475-4419. Other rentals published in the “World-Wide Home Rental Guide,” 130 Lincoln Ave., Suite 842, Santa Fe, N.M. 87501, phone (505) 988-5188. Subscription: $9 a year.

France

Book early if you intend to visit France in ’89 when the French will be celebrating the bicentennial of the French Revolution. Opening ceremonies on New Year’s Day will be televised worldwide from Paris’ Place de la Concorde. Throughout the year dozens of other cities/villages will join the observance. At the same time, ’89 will mark the centennial of the Eiffel Tower (built to observe the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution). For a schedule of events, contact the French Government Tourist Office, 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills 90212. Telephone (213) 271-6665 or 272-2661.

Meanwhile, the fall of ’89 also marks the introduction of new French high-speed trains (the TGV) between Paris and Nantes. Later, the TGV will serve Brittany, Tours, Bordeaux and the Spanish Border. With the introduction of new trains, the French National Railroads will continue to sell the popular France Railpass and the Rail ‘n’ Drive Pass. The Railpass sells for as little as $99, while the Rail ‘n’ Drive Pass is pegged at a low $149 per person (based on two persons combining train/car travel). New in ‘89: a fly/rail/car pass. Combines air, train and car rentals. Details from the French National Railroads, 9465 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills 90212. Telephone (213) 274-6934.