Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

If you've never experienced more of England than the tourist triangle of London, Oxford, and Stratford Upon Avon, here's your chance for a romantic liaison with medieval Norwich, an arty walkable city just two hours northeast by train from London. The capital of East Anglia, Norwich is where history, mystery, gourmet cuisine and retail therapy converge to provide the perfect perfume for romance.

Here's our recipe for a great date weekend.

FRIDAY

Arrive at the four-star Maids Head Hotel, the oldest in England, where guests like Elizabeth I are rumored to have slept as well as others en route to pilgrimages to Norwich Cathedral across the road. Voted Hotel of the Year in 2008 by Norfolk Tourism, the 84-bedroom hotel just received a total makeover that brilliantly preserves its historic features while updating the 13th century property to modern standards. Unlike many European hotels, many rooms and particularly the beds are king sized, as is the service.

A few steps out the door takes you back centuries. Perfectly located in cobbled Tombland where pavement restaurants abound, it's just a few streets from Norwich Castle and the unique little shops in Norwich Lanes.

SHOP AND SIGHTSEE SIMULTANEOUSLY

Combine retail therapy with history. Start at Gentleman's Walk, where since the 18th century men of fashion paraded with their ladies, also dressed in their best. Much around this street remains as it was in the 16th century when Queen Elizabeth I transformed the city's fortunes by allowing 30 Protestant weavers to bring their skills to Norwich. Her edict allowed the "strangers" to escape religious persecution in the Low Countries, putting Norwich's weaving and textile industry on the world map, and making it England's second city in terms of prosperity and importance.

Take a tour through the city's historic center and look for the windows high up in some buildings, where the weavers worked, listening to the birdsong of canaries they imported from home, their 16th century version of an IPod.

On one side of Gentleman's Walk are the striped awnings of the 900-year-old Norwich Market, Britain's oldest. Open six days a week, here you can buy anything from alternative clothing to secondhand books at bargain prices.

On the other side of the Walk is the Victorian Art Noveau Royal Arcade, home to up-market jewelry, lingerie and Coleman's Mustard shop and museum. Wander up toward Tesco Metro to explore the quirky shops lining the Norwich Lanes. Then onto Timberhill for dozens of unique fashion and lifestyle shops, plus Elm Hill, where stores set in beautifully preserved timber-framed buildings hawk everything from art to teddy bears. Plus there's Jarrold's (not even London has one) twice voted the United Kingdom's Independent Store of the Year! It's hardly surprising that Norwich has been selected as one of the top five shopping destinations in the U.K.

INDULGE THE SENSES

What could be more seductive than dinner By Appointment, a unique little restaurant housed in three 15th century, beamed, listed Merchants Houses?

Enter from the parking lot at the back of the building through an archway and courtyards, which bring you first into the kitchen and then into four intimate dining rooms. Described by many as "theatrical" in ambiance, the restaurants seem more like a private residence — or a lot like your very rich auntie's antique-filled period home. Dinner is served on white linen tables laid with antique silver cutlery and charming blue and white period place china. The menu is recited like a poem by partner Robert Culyer — description of dishes such as "roasted breast of Guinea fowl resting on a braised vegetable couscous and a sweet and sour tomato fondue" fall trippingly off the tongue.

SATURDAY

LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON

An afternoon punt an a British river has sparked many a romance.

Falling in love on Norwich's River Wensum, part of the Norfolk Broads, is easier because you can leave navigation to the crew and concentrate instead on love. The Station Quay is just a short walk from the Maids Head Hotel. There catch a motorized City Boat for a water tour of Norwich. Sip a glass of wine, lean back in your lover's arms and watch the world go by.

The 146-mile Norfolk Broads — a network of inland lockless rivers — is the largest protected wetland in the country, dotted with pubs and gardens filled with rare plants and miles of walking trails.

No lady-in-waiting should leave this charmed city without stopping at Norwich Castle. Built as a palace 900 years ago, it's now a museum with exhibits like the Twinning Gallery, showcasing the world's largest collection of teapots.

Up for some nightlife? If your taste runs to extravaganzas like "Miss Saigon," the 1,300-seat art deco Theatre Royal is your perfect after-dinner treat, where you can also dine before the show. For something edgier, try The Playhouse, which mounts award-winning productions from Edinburgh's Fringe Festival winners, and celebrity nights with personalities like Germaine Greer. You just gotta feel hip stopping for a drink in its crowded and hopping Playhouse Bar or taking a leisurely cappuccino in its Playroom. The bar leads out to a riverside terrace where in good weather you can feast on a buffet or other meals prepared by The Last Wine Bar, the splendidly romantic eatery next door.

SUNDAY

DECADENT AND DEVOUT

Time for church — or at least for church sightseeing. Famous for once having a church for every Sunday and a pub for every day, even now, Norwich has more medieval churches than London, Bristol and York together.

The artwork in Norwich Cathedral and its ironic histories are amazing. One of Norwich Cathedral's artistic treasures — a 14th century painting called the "Despenser Retable," depicting the life and resurrection of Christ - was only discovered when a guest dropped his spoon and in retrieving it noticed the table 's underside was actually a painting!

All this piety can build a prodigious thirst. The 1,500-year-old Adam and Eve historic public house, reputed to be Norwich's oldest, is the perfect watering hole to revive your spirits. Located behind Norwich Cathedral next to the river, this half-timbered wood building ambles over two floors. Furnished with wooden benches and private little alcoves, it's ideal for a stolen kiss, a pint and a bowl of homemade soup.

Don't even think of heading out of town without taking dinner at the Maid's Head oak-paneled traditional Courtyard Restaurant, famous for its outstanding steak dinners and innovative cuisine.

Some indulgences are best kept secret, while others are designed to share. Your friends will be dazzled by your tales of this less-traveled English gem. What you leave out is up to you.

IF YOU GO

For information about staying and touring in Norwich, see www.visitnorwich.co.uk.

Sheila Sobell and Richard N. Every are freelance, worldwide travel photojournalists. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.