NEED TO KNOW

More luxe for your bucks

If you liked the Bellagio before, you may love it now. The Las Vegas hotel casino has upgraded the 512 suites in Bellagio Tower. The $60-million redesign has added mahogany furnishings, touches of Italian marble and new textiles; it also has some overdue high-tech amenities such as high-speed Internet access; flat-screen, high-definition TVs; DVD players; fax machines; and laptop safes. Luxury doesn’t come cheap: Suite rates range from $450 to $8,000 a night. Info: (888) 987-6667, www.bellagio.com.

-- Rosemary McClure

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In the lion’s den

Valencia, Spain, is continuing to create showcases for creatures great and small. The city this month opened the first phase of Bioparc Valencia. The $94-million zoo has re-created savanna and African rain-forest habitats for zebras, lions, gazelles, gorillas and leopards in a 25-acre park that houses 4,000 animals. Habitats for Southeast Asian and Central and South American animals are on tap next. The city is already home to one of Europe’s largest aquariums. Admission to the Bioparc costs about $32 for adults and $24 for children. Info: www.bioparcvalencia.es.

-- Vani Rangachar

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In vest

Idaho-based Scotte- vest says its newest design -- the Travel Vest -- makes airport security a breeze because you can carry all your electronic devices (iPods, cellphones, digital cameras) in one vest that easily slips through the X-ray machine. The vest, priced at $100, has 22 pockets, each designed and labeled for a specific use. The vest looks good and, with stain- and water-resistant fabric, wears well. But life may be getting too complex when our clothing comes with a user manual that looks like an electronic schematic. Info: (866) 909-8378, www.scottevest.com.

-- Hugo Martin

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Emperor’s digs

Rome’s first emperor, Augustus (63 BC to AD 14), was, according to historian Suetonius, a man of modest tastes. Before his ascension to the helm of the Roman Empire, Augustus lived in a house on the Palatine Hill. The remains of his house, which were uncovered during excavations in the 1970s, opened to tourists in early March. The house consists of four rooms that date from around 30 BC and are noteworthy for their ethereal frescoes, so delicate that only five visitors are allowed to see them at a time. Among them are the Room of the Masks, which features images from the Roman theater, and the Pine Festooned Room, decorated with a chain of realistic pine cones. Archaeologists believe that the painter was an Egyptian. Admission costs about $17 and includes access to the rest of the Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and Coliseum. The frescoes, considered as remarkable as any found in Herculaneum and Pompeii, can be viewed 11 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. daily.

-- Susan Spano

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Salute to the fish

Like the swallows that return to Capistrano each spring, so too do the flying fish to Catalina Island each May to September. This year, the island has decided to celebrate their annual visit with a four-day festival with plenty of events for adults and the small fry. The first Flying Fish Festival will be May 29 to June 1. Highlights include nighttime flying-fish boat tours aboard the Blanche W, a 98-passenger wooden vessel built in 1924; sand sculptures; a concert; fishing derbies; a parade and more. Info: (310) 510-1520, www.catalinachamber .com.

-- Vani Rangachar