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| Big Ben! |
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| Sir Oliver Cromwell’s statue at Parliament |
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| One of Cromwell’s symbolic Lions at the base of his statue |
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| The original Palace inside Parliament showing where King Charles I was tried and convicted. |
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| The gold cross marks the exact spot where Cromwell’s mace stood as he pounded it on the floor, proclaiming the end of the monarchy and a sentence of death for King Charles I. |
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| Cromwell’s bust and coat of arms outside the House of Commons, where no King nor Queen is permitted to enter. |
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| Westminster Abbey, home to so many historic tombs. |
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| This is a good one - Cromwell’s plaque at Westminster Abbey where he was buried for 3 years before he was dug up and kicked out of Westminster Abbey with his head hung on a spike for all to see. |
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| London Bridge |
Savannah Sky Position: 50 degrees 47’ N, 001 degrees 06’ W
Gosport, England
London Town
What an experience we had, visiting historic and modern London.
Staying at the Royal Thames Yacht Club was a treat for us. Only members of this exclusive yacht club are
allowed to stay in one of the “cabins”.
Luckily, because we have reciprocal privileges with our membership in the Ocean Cruising Club, we were allowed to stay there.
Outside our cabin window lay Hyde Park, with the clippity clap of Royal Horses each morning as the beasts paraded by.
We were really shocked at the residences surrounding the Yacht Club and on Hyde Park.
I should have read more since we discovered that real-estate around the yacht club is the most expensive on the planet.
£160 million pounds for an apartment, is on the low end of the scale. Really, and those were 2018 prices.
The London press calls this area just another one of the Gulf States. Gulf, as in Middle East Gulf.
Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, Bentleys Maseratis and so many supercars line the streets, not even in a protected garage. Geeze.
English is not the first language here, as Arabic is the only spoken language everywhere, while robes and burkas flow with the breeze.
Tourist sites around London Town were amazing.
We walked just over 60 miles, in 4 days.
But first…
The absolute BEST place we visited in London was British Parliament.
Parliament???
Why would we ever want to visit such a political place, since politics is very alien for us and not anything we care about.
Well… There was one huge reason:
Steve’s great great great, etc. grandfather was Oliver Cromwell.
Sir Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Sir Oliver, the person who abolished the British monarchy with the trial and beheading of King Charles I, a few years back in 1649.
Oh my!
Sir Oliver’s statue is in the locked and guarded House of Parliament, of all places.
We really just wanted a picture of his statue that was behind the heavily guarded area of Parliament.
Well, if you know Maria, you might guess what she was up to.
Maria walked around the metal barriers and up to the heavily armed security guards at the fortified gate and explained I was the great great great etc. Grandson of Sir Oliver Cromwell.
Well, Maria created a huge stir and suddenly we were whisked away and assigned to a private guide. It seems Sir Oliver is very respected among certain British politicians and the military.
Our guide led us inside both houses of Parliament and outside the Prime Minster's office.
We were 20 feet away from the PM behind his door.
The exquisite bust of Sir Oliver sat on a pedestal nearby, prominently outside the House of Commons.
No pictures are allowed but we were special so the guards purposely turned their backs to us. 😊
All the guards and private guides we met kept saying how much I looked like Sir Oliver! I felt like such a celebrity, ha ha.
After about an hour of walking among the inner chambers of Parliament, House of Commons, House of Lords, Prime Minister’s office, where the King sits, and where King Charles I was tried along with the exact spot where Sir Oliver placed his Mace, proclaiming the monarchy was dead.
We left the Palace/Parliament building and back into brilliant sunshine amongst crowds of tourists.
And Steve is very happy to still have his head.
Steve and Maria
PS - More pictures can be found at: https://sysavannah.blogspot.com/
1. You can follow Savannah Sky’s route here, once we leave the dock: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SY_SavannahSky/
2. Or here: https://share.garmin.com/SYSavannahSky
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