E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Traveling from Paris to London is a breeze these days, all one needs is a passport and a ticket aboard the high-speed train, the Eurostar. So taking advantage of a brief break from my musical adventures in France, we arrived at St. Pancras station in London and traveled to a lovely part of town known as Clapham Commons. A beautiful mix of brick homes and trendy shops, Clapham is also centrally located with easy access  to all parts of the city by bus or tube. Clapham Commons is also home of the Holy Trinity Clapham Church; where the song "Amazing Grace" was born and the British abolitionist movement against the slave trade with William Wilberforce took hold. The great film 2006 "Amazing Grace", with Ioan Gruffudd and Albert Finney captures the events of that era quite well. The Tower of London, Parliament and Westminster Abbey Getting an "Oyster Card" and taking the No. 88 bus from Clapham is great, as it follows one of the best routes for sightseeing in L

For the last few weeks, I've been traveling and performing in Europe with the Wilbur Rehmann Quintet. From the quaint little towns like Fa, Quillan, Eygalieres and Moustiers Sainte-Marie, to the lively centers of Carcassonne, Cannes, Nice and Paris. Tourist season is now in full swing; the French Open is behind us and the Tour de France is about to begin. France has also seen some unusual weather; flooding has closed the town of Lourdes, postponing the annual pilgrimage there. The French however, are a resilient lot, and will bounce back as they have for centuries. In my next few columns, I'll describe a few of the amazing places I'll be visiting; France, England and Portugal, all the while heeding  travel writer Rick Steves' adage of "getting to know the locals, and straying off the beaten path." Toulouse, Carcassonne and Eygalieres After a rather uncomfortable flight from SFO, non-stop to Heathrow; (with an iPad playing, fidgety child and seats designed to e