My favorite little pensione in...

My favorite little pensione in Rome has gone big-time. Owners of the 15-room Scalinata di Spagna have installed private baths, air conditioning, mini-bars, TV. Receptionist Antonio Tricamo provided the details in a phone call last week from Rome. The Scalinata sits at the top of the Spanish Steps--on Piazza Trinita’ dei Monti. Faces the world-renowned Hassler. And although both hotels share the same view, prices differ. At the Hassler, a single room costs approximately $310/$490 a day; doubles are about $458/$614. The Scalinata, on the other hand, charges $162 for a single, $210 for a double, including breakfast that’s served in a rooftop garden with a mind-boggling view of Rome. (Guests focus on St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon and the Monument to Victor Emmanuel.)

Faithful readers will recall Cacao, the talking parrot who fell in love with the owner’s wife at Pensione Scalinata. Cacao arrived in the mid-’70s to appear in a TV commercial praising Coca-Cola. Before the cameras could roll, the bird fell head over tail feathers in love with proprietress Gisella Bellia. After this, the lovesick parrot refused to open his beak for TV. Wouldn’t utter a word. Its owner raged and wept and left Rome in disgust. Indeed, it is how he happened to give Signora Bellia the bird. Lucky parrot, living in this 250-year-old hotel- pensione , sleeping on a boiler and in love with this lovely Italian.

Gisella Bellia and her husband, Giuseppe, are doing a good bit of traveling these days. In their absence, guests are greeted by their son Renato and daughter Claudia. And, of course, by Cacao, who hasn’t stopped squawking since shortly after his previous owner abandoned Rome.

Hotel Pensione Scalinata di Spagna, Piazza Trinita’ dei Monti 17, Rome, Italy.

Van Gogh Country: Reader Tom Stoddard, who is going to France, asks: “Is Arles worth a visit?”

Indeed, particularly for the traveler who is a devotee of Vincent van Gogh. It was in Arles--in sunny Provence--that Van Gogh produced several of his masterpieces. Narrow streets wind through the center of the city, skirting ancient buildings/lovely squares. Guests gather in restaurant Vaccares above the former Cafe du Noir, where Van Gogh and Gauguin sipped absinthe while studying the crowds gathered in Place du Forum. In the square, visitors share tables beneath a canopy of plane trees, and others gather at Place Voltaire, where waiters deliver carafes of wine from Bistro Le Pitchounet and Mu Bar de la Paix.

A sense of age exists in every corner of this square. (I recall a moonlit night when breezes blew from the south to cool a summer heat wave.)

Only moments off Place du Forum, Hotel d’Arlatan occupies a 15th-Century mansion with ivy-covered walls and views of a courtyard with a musical fountain. Forty-six rooms. No two alike. No. 6 with its balcony is known as the Juliet suite. (France’s Mitterrand is said to have occupied No. 7.) Lofty ceilings. Loads of antiques. One enthusiastic guest left behind this note: “One of the loveliest hotels I’ve ever visited.”

Hotel d’Arlatan, 26 Rue Sauvage, 13200 Arles, France. Rates: about $70/$124.

Others seek shelter at Hotel Jules Caesar, a former 17th-Century Carmelite convent facing Boulevard Lices with its boutiques/sidewalk cafes and whose Restaurant Lou Marques is ranked among the city’s finest. Hotel Jules Caesar, Boulevard des Lices, 13200 Arles, France. Rates: about $91/$175.

Sightseeing: Visit the city’s Roman Arena (the scene of bullfights/plays), Eglise Saint-Trophime, the Baths of Constantine. The original Pont de l’Anglois--the little draw bridge that Van Gogh painted with such ardor--was a casualty of World War II bombings and has been replaced by another, similar bridge.

Grand Escape: If you’ve had it with smog, traffic snarls and other more recent travails in Los Angeles, sweet escape is a phone call away. Freighter World Cruises of Pasadena is booking a record number of passengers on trips ranging from 10 days’ duration (Long Beach/Vancouver/Long Beach: $1,150) to around-the-world voyages ($11,750) lasting 110-115 days. For 16 years, Freighter World Cruises has helped travelers run off to destinations from Suva to the Suez. No telephone. No sirens. Only the serenity of the sea and the promise of another peaceful tomorrow.

FWC’s clients include both the tired and the retired. Anyone (young or old) wishing to escape the fast lane. An 81-year-old woman who completed a trip around the world recently is preparing to go again--the same lady who elected to continue a voyage several years ago following the death and burial at sea of her husband.

Ships sailing on 42-day trips from Los Angeles Harbor call at ports in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji. Prices figure out to approximately $123 per day per passenger. British Bank Line’s around-the-world trips (about $110 a day) transit the Panama Canal en route to Tahiti, Western Samoa, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Australia, Singapore and other destinations.

While usual port time ranges from 8 to 24 hours, weather and dock congestion occasionally cause longer delays. Storms in the Pacific added an extra two weeks recently to one freighter trip. For the passengers it was a bonus. The extra 14 days were on the house. Only when a ship returns sooner is there an adjustment--almost always favoring the passenger.

Freighter World Cruises, 180 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena 91101, (818) 449-3106.

The Bard Express: Remember when it was necessary to overnight in Stratford-upon-Avon in order to attend a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre--this due to poor late-night public transportation back to London? No longer. This year the Royal Shakespeare Company has introduced express motor-coach service round trip between London and the Bard’s hometown. The shuttle leaves London at 1:35 p.m., arrives in Stratford at 4:30 p.m. Returns 15 minutes after the final curtain. Passengers are back in London about 1 a.m. For reservations in the United States, call Edwards & Edwards at (800) 223-6108. Fares: $37 round trip or $24 one way for theatergoers wishing to spend the night in Stratford-on-Avon.

Potpourri: Vacationers booking four nights at the posh Hotel Twin Dolphin in Cabo San Lucas (June 1-Aug. 31) will receive free round-trip air fare from LAX and San Diego. Rates: $220 single, $300 double, including three meals daily. Call (213) 386-3940 . . . . Summer rates at Manhattan’s thrifty and popular little Hotel Wyndham (42 W. 58th St., New York 10019) have been posted: $115/$125 single, $130/$140 double. Reservations: (212) 753-3500 . . . . One free night is offered to vacationers booking a “Coconut Bonus Days” package in Hawaii (rates from $609) by calling Creative Leisure at (800) 426-6367 . . . . Sallie Clark reminds readers that a directory describing dozens of Colorado inns continues to be available by sending a self-addressed envelope and $1 to the Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers of Colorado, 1102 W. Pikes Peak Ave., Colorado Springs, Colo. 80904 . . . . New money-saving vouchers (called Cheque Mates) for travel in New Zealand must be purchased before leaving the United States. Details by dialing Newmans South Pacific Vacations at (800) 421-3326.

Reader Recommendations

Illinois--Jane Shaffer, Burbank: “The Brockway House B&B;, 331 E. Carroll, Macomb, Ill. 61455. Rates: $42/$62.”

Mexico--Marge Gold, Pacific Palisades: “Two stores in Puerto Vallarta that are in the ‘not-to-be-missed’ category: Talavera, 266 Ignacio Vallarta (handcrafted ceramics) and La Tienda (home furniture, glass, garden accessories), 122 Col. E. Zapata.”

England--Santo J. Prete, El Segundo: “Thirty minutes by train from London, a B&B; operated by Mr. and Mrs. A.F. Murphy, 44 Thanet Road, Bexley, Kent DA5 1AP. Rates: about $17.70 single, $34.20 double.”

U.S. Virgin Islands--Jerry and Gerrie Cunningham, Torrance: “A great, small, out-of-the-way place, The Waves at Cane Bay, operated by Kevin and Suzanne Ryan, P.O. Box 1749 Kingshill, St. Croix. On the water. Room with kitchenette: $70.”

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