The Breakers, the 70-room "cottage" in Newport, R.I., built in 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, is undergoing a $2 million facelift.
A National Historic Landmark and the star of the Preservation Society of Newport County's collection of 11 historic properties, the Breakers was in need of exterior repair. Restoration work, which began last March and is scheduled to end by Christmas, has included cleaning the outside walls, rebuilding chimneys, replacing skylights, repairing and repainting trim and rebuilding the Spanish tile roofing system.
Throughout the project, the mansion, an Italian Renaissance-style villa, has remained open for visitors.
Included in the preservation society's traditional Christmas at the Newport Mansions program (Nov. 29 to Jan. 1), the Breakers -- along with the Elms and Marble House -- will be decorated for the holidays with thousands of poinsettias, greens, trees and flowers. Mannequins in authentic costumes will be on display, and dining tables will be set with period silver and china.
In addition to the elaborate trimmings, seasonal music programs will be featured in December.
The Breakers is open daily, except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Admission is $15, $4 for children ages 6 to 17. A Winter Passport ticket is available for all three mansions. For more information: 401-847-1000; www. newportmansions.org.
NEW ZOO IN KANSAS GOES BUGGY OVER BUGS
Bug lovers can visit a collection of household pests and more exotic creatures at Kansas State University's new insect zoo.
The collection of more than 1,000 living insects is housed at the visitors center at the school's Horticulture Gardens and cared for by a full-time keeper.
The zoo, dedicated last month, includes a replica of a home kitchen. Visitors are encouraged to peer through plexiglass panels that enclose cockroach-filled cabinet drawers and flies on the drain board.
"We want to deliver valuable and environmentally sensitive information to the public, and tell them, 'Don't just call the exterminator and start spraying,' " says department of entomology chairman Sonny Ramaswamy. "There are ways to use simple cleanliness techniques to take care of these things."
Cockroaches flourish at the new zoo, including several exotic species that are featured in a walk-through display simulating an underground environment of a tropical rain forest.
The zoo consolidates a succession of live insect exhibits that have been scattered about the campus. A separate butterfly conservatory opened at the university, in Manhattan, Kan., in 2000.
The insect zoo is open Monday, Wednesday and Fri-day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
More information: 785-532-2122; www.ksu.edu / butterfly.
Car rental rates guaranteed online
One of the top online booking services, Travelocity, says it now guarantees that the final rental rates for cars booked through its site will be within 1 percent of the quoted rate, excluding extras such as refueling, insurance and damage waivers.
Travelocity said all the agencies whose cars it offers, including Hertz, Avis and National, have agreed to certify the quoted rate information under a program dubbed Total Pricing for Cars.
The new policy reflects one of the quirks of the car rental business: Rental rates have long been notorious for surcharges assessed by local and state governments and for other hefty fees related to airport concessions. Such add-ons can amount to 25 percent or more of the total cost.
Flying around the Pacific
Those who hanker to tramp around Pacific Rim countries and islands can consider the new Circle Pacific Pass being offered by the Star Alliance, an airline group that includes United, Singapore, Air Canada and four other carriers. Passholders can spend up to six months covering up to 26,000 miles in places such as Australia, Thailand, Fiji, Western Samoa and Tonga. The itinerary must include at least three stopovers and include at least one North Pacific / South Pacific crossover. The cost depends on the mileage, class of travel and itinerary. For details, visit www.staralliance.com.
-- From wire reports
Sun wins travel award
The Sun's travel section recently received a silver medal in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards.
The national competition, sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers, received a record 1,470 entries in 28 categories. The Sun competed in the category of Newspaper Travel Sections with a circulation between 350,000 and 499,000.
The Lowell Thomas awards are recognized as the most prestigious honors given in the field of travel journalism.