Charming English Street Names

One of the charms of England is its adherence to tradition, particularly in place names. One has to search hard to find a street name there that is a number. Come to think of it, I don't remember any. Here are just a few that by their very names tell you that you are not in Kansas anymore. Honestly, one might expect Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Christopher Robin to come skipping by at any moment. Photos taken in Strood and Rochester, Kent.

A "close" is an area, e.g. a field, enclosed by a hedge.

I vote for the former name.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the object that inspired the name.

A "row" is a narrow street, lined with identical houses. In the U.S. the only one I know is "Skid" Row. That American term originated in the Northwest lumber towns when skids, or logs were used to move or slide ("skid") the large timbers down the street. Later, of course, it meant any area where those who were down on their luck lived.

By the way, a "mews" is a 19th century term that describes a cobbled street with rows of stables and carriage houses facing one another. Alas, such is no longer the case on these streets.

Ahhhhhmsterdam

There simply is no other city like it in the world. Amsterdam, where one can sit for hours alongside a canal, sipping some of the best beer on the planet and watch the Dutch life glide across your field of view. The Netherlands shows what "laid back" means. For a change of pace, get up and walk around the city, alternating between pubs, coffee shops (they like it strong and often--I'm talking coffee AND beer!), and pot cafes (be warned: you can't buy alcohol there, just marijuana and soft drinks). Bicycles, "pommes frites," storefront prostitutes, bicycles, window boxes, cheese and pastry shops, sex shops, more bicycles, houseboats, and did I mention bicycles? Following are some of the sights that are unique to Amsterdam, one of my all-time favorite cities, the first place outside the U.S. I ever visited, when I was 16. It draws me back again and again.

How in the world do folks find their bikes? Notice the bike parking ramp in distance. Outside Centraal Station.

A quintessential Amsterdam scene.

The city has preserved a great many of its beautiful 17th century houses.

Some of the newest cars are so small that they park in spaces traditionally reserved for bicycles.

John's version of "Where's Waldo?" Find the photographer in this Amsterdam pub.

This scene could be nowhere else.

If you want it, Amsterdam has it.