European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amps photos by Peter Jaeger 18 13 Jessl >8 v,l7 Orleans St. Nazaire 3gw angers. Loire a langeais j Nantes Loire it a used i Tours Lumur .0 a  3t sift Cofta wan o parts i w4 tha Loire i i enlarged France y it. A Iii. Fon Levrault j via \ Che Monceaux. I Sash i. It Pinon s a Chaumont _ a \ i it sancerre0 Loches Amboise a away be Rideau \ stories by Pat Watkins special to the stars and stripes a you think keeping up with the Joneses is Tough. You should try it when your neighbors Are Kings and marquees bourbons and medics. It s not Tough however to visit an area where such a neighbourhood rivalry spawned a medieval Disneyland. A place where Kings frolicked and courtiers scrounged for favor and intrigue. Where huge buildings have notched towers weird gargoyles even drainpipe shaped like dragons where forests and manicured Parb run for Miles and where lessons in european history jump up and grab you. All of that can be found in West Central France a the Valley of the Loire and its tributary Rivers. That s where Louis Xiv partied while Hunting and where Joan of arc warned a King to get his act together or lose the country. It $ where Leonardo a Vinci spent his last years and where Rene Quot i think therefore i am Quot Descartes spent his first years. The chateaus or castles in the Loire area Are not the Only attractions but they re the most fascinating if somewhat repulsive for democratically raised plebeians like my wife and me. She said it first Quot you can kind of understand Why the peasants got mad and rebelled against All  Webster s dictionary says the English word Quot lure Quot comes from the Middle French word Quot Loire Quot or Quot Loirre. Quot it s unclear however whether the River took its name from the word or gave the word its meaning. The Loire is France s longest River it s not its most famous. The Seine traversing romantic Paris takes that Honor. But the Loire covers nearly 650 Miles from its head in Arteche department state in Southeast France to its Estuary on the Bay of Biscay South of Saint Nazarre. From its Start it meanders North to Orleans then West through Blois Tours angers and Nantes about 30 Miles West of Saint Nazaire. Quot \ a the area we re interested in is from Orleans about 70 Miles Southwest of Paris to angers 180 Miles from Paris. One Guidebook lists 4 7 chateaus Worth visiting Between those two cities. There Are actually More though some you can just eyeball from the outside. / put wlwrmlb�fre4snce writer boxed in Madrid. 8pfcv the chateau de Chambord is the largest of the castles lit the _ Loire Valley d i a a Aya i t at?., ,3 a am u a. M. U -2 i a up a Fop. A l or v a Ltd it 7jk Tvr 7 s a a % it a s i1 h 4. \ Quot a a to. A a. Pfc of a a i y Quot a of a thu f Ltd f it a i a a a or re i it a. I j / i byh-1 r a a a v j. Ltd ia1 j-1 a a by a fluff <fecem6er 6,199q to per 9