European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                W m fill the gardens of Villandry Are a Short hop from the hotel rooms of the chateau de Marcy. French Chateaux turned hotels give guest Royal treatment by Adam z. Horvath and Carmel Mccoubrey new Day ii took us just one night among the Stone turrets of a French Renaissance chateau to figure out Why the Dukes and counts of the Loire Valley were always declaring War on each other. There s nothing like living in a Castle to make you feel just a Little Well arrogant. Invulnerable perhaps. Lord of All you Survey that kind of thing. The Chateaux of the Loire once the status symbols of the Power grabbing nobility now reflect some of their glory onto the More mundane missions of Ordinary vacationers. Visit 12 Chateaux in three Days no big Deal we can handle it. After All we re sleeping in a Castle every night. You Don t have to stay in a Castle to View the treasures of the Loire a Fertile Valley in Central France where sumptuous palaces have sprouted like mushrooms. You can get momentary vicarious thrills by oozing and aching at the famous Geometric gardens of Villandry the reflecting Moat of away be Rideau the curving and jutting towers of the Majestic Chambord a and we did. But after a full Day of exploring the relics of a time when every upper class Home was a c Astle the Best Castle is one that you can Call Home. That s where you can roam the sloping grounds without seeing .1 sign directing you to the souvenir shop where you can run your hand Over the a it a 0-year-old Stone Walls without a guard telling you to step Back. You can Survey the medieval town As if it were your own stride across the Broad Lawn and up to the pingpong table. Of so it s unlikely there was pingpong at our first hotel chateau de Marcy in the 12th Century when a Knight of Henry Plantagenet s court built it. No heated Pool or Tennis court then either. The Lawn furniture would have looked a Little different. And impending arrivals might have been announced by a Page on horse rather than by fax. But when you re wandering the grounds at Sunset or late at night under the stars with a single lamp shining from a Turret window behind you the intervening centuries can slip away. If you do it right you can Drift off to dreamland not completely sure what Century it will be when you Wake up. Our stays at Marcy and the 19th-Century Domaine de la Torti Niere came after a three Day journey by Carriage a sorry a 90-minute High Speed train trip a from Paris to angers where we got our first look at a chateau. After angers 13th-Century Stone fortress we drove along the Loire riverbanks to Saumur a More intimate fortress overlooking the water and then to use whose fairy tale  is said to be the Model for sleeping Beauty s Castle in the original fable. That was enough before we headed for our own Beauty sleep at Marcy in Chiron wine country once owned by the family that built use. As we drove there through rolling Farmland the chateau s dunce Cap turrets appeared like those of a toy Castle in the distance a and stayed that Way As we made our Way through the purple leaved Vineyard leading to its Entrance Arch. The chateau its owners wistfully note used to be much bigger before the destructive 16th Century wars of religion with Moats and defensive Walls that surrounded the Village of Marcy. Now a piece of Stone Wall near the Pool is All that remains of the original fortifications. The current nobility Are the Well heeled guests chattering in French who pay roughly $1 20 to $250 a night for a chateau room and $150 for an excellent dinner for two with the local Chiron wine and produce a there s a vegetable and Herb Garden behind the chateau s Kitchen. Dinners Are late and leisurely with the waiters announcing your courses As if they were the names of visiting dignitaries there s just enough time Tor Coffee and digest ifs in the Salon before heading to the rooms which look older from the outside than in a for instance luxurious ultramodern bathrooms Are the Rule. In the morning after croissants it s time to move on. Drive Over the Bridge climb the Hill walk the ramparts of the ruined Chiron fortress buy marvelous Goat cheese and baguettes in the Village Square eat them on a peaceful Riverbank drive the tiny roads circumnavigate the technicolor Villandry gardens hear about Catherine de Medici see her bed looks amps. Peter Jaeger the chateau at use was built by the same family that owned the one at Marcy. 8 stripes Magazine october 24, 1991