I had been traveling for 20 hours, heading home after a long trip, when I got stuck in a snowstorm. I was just an hour and a half from home, but the roads were treacherous. So I booked a room at the Norwich Inn. I dragged my bag through the snow into the lobby, and felt as if I had walked onto a movie set: a fire blazing in the fireplace, people laughing in the pub next to the lobby, fine diners enjoying an elegant meal in the back room. The staff greeted me warmly and, recognizing me as the weary and hungry traveler that I was, suggested I grab a meal at the pub. I brought my bag up to my room -- it was inviting, homey in the best sense, warm and cozy, clean, comfortable -- then I headed back down to the pub. The bartender was friendly and attentive, delivering a perfect martini. And there I sat for the next couple of hours, enjoying fabulous pub fare and lively conversation with some locals and a couple of fellow travelers. All felt right with the world! The Norwich Inn is the real deal. Not a movie set. But it could be.
