Saxon Henry's Blog, page 6

Making the Move to Medium

Rather than let this precious (to me) blog seem abandoned, I want to alert everyone who stops by here to read my ramblings to know I’m making the move to Medium, as I am excited about the opportunity to build an audience there and to enjoy camaraderie with other writers. I want to thank everyone […]

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Café Society as Cultural Interpreter

What do the Paris and New York City cafés that served as historical backdrops for some of the world’s most brilliant creatives say about the differences in France and America? Quite a lot, actually. Since the fabric of New York is woven by revolving real estate, citizens of Gotham learn not to get too attached […]

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The Renaissance Book Club

  I’m on the Acela to Washington, D.C., my favorite way to reach the capital from New York City. The dining car is so crowded there is only one seat left—the one across from me. A man approaches to ask if he can take it and I answer, “Of course!” As he settles himself, he […]

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The Nature of Noble Loyalty

  It’s spring in London and the flowers are bursting forth on Cheyne Walk, which skirts the edge of the River Thames until it gives way to the Chelsea Embankment. I have ambled along the street for nearly an hour identifying plaques representing the famous people who’ve lived on nearly every block. Finally, I’ve reached […]

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The Tapestry of History

  In just a few hours, the modern ideal of a fairy tale wedding will take place at Windsor Castle. A trip I took to the medieval palace several years ago had a legendary feel to it that may not rival the experience of a young American woman marrying her prince charming but it was […]

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The New Face of Religious Zeal

  As I circle the domed space, I approach the front of the pulpit for the third time. I can’t believe how perfect it is that I am seeing the chapel at night; that I am alone. There is an eerie feel to the room that’s intensified by the few thin slices of light glancing […]

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The Personality of Place

  So, this is how it feels to experience a medieval Tuscan village that has existed on a hillside in some form for almost 1000 years! My view from the courtyard of Castel Monastero encompasses a string of buildings that meander along the edge of a quaint piazza. The bricked courtyard is paved in a […]

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Calamities of the Heart

  It’s winter and the Père Lachaise Cemetery is awash in grays. The sky, the bare limbs of the trees, the pavers and the stone cladding the tombs coalesce into one monochromatic composition as I climb the hill. I walk along a path made knotty by the roots of trees as they attempt to nudge […]

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Echoes of History

  Life is a paradoxical affair at the corner of Boulevards Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain. Uber drivers dressed in tailored suits whiz through the intersection in sleek Mercedes just yards away from an assemblage of ragged walls nearly 20 centuries old. Pocked with scraggy arches, they splay toward the streets—unapologetic in their dilapidation.     The […]

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Far from Oblivious in Bologna

  When strolling along the streets of Bologna near the city’s center, don’t be surprised if you turn a corner and come upon an anomaly. It will stand unapologetically as traffic whizzes by, a thumb of unruly masonry with its flanks sawed off. The amputations were necessary to make way for thoroughfares teeming with cars […]

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