My train was an early one, 8.45, so I was out of the house early on - the sun shone all the way to Paddington, and you go through some gorgeous countryside on the way
I was at Paddington by ten to 11, and then it was easy to find the Tube, and having pre-purchased my day ticket for it made it easier still. The Tube has improved a LOT since I last used it, the carriage was very clean and felt a lot airier somehow than I remembered. It was a journey of 25 minutes to Tower Hill, and I sat on the wall outside in the sunshine waiting for Ally and Di 
Ally was first, and Di not long afterwards - lots of hugs and chatting soon ensued You'll be amazed to hear that we found a pub nearby, where we had a restorative cider each, and then wandered out into the sunshine again, towards the nearby Tower and suddenly there they were, the poppies in all their amazing glory
It is a quite breath taking sight, so beautiful and majestic but also so very sad to think that each and every one of those represents a life lost, and mainly a young life too 
We discovered we had fabulous views of the installation, from all sides, so we didn't actually need to go inside, although at that stage we thought we still would. We wandered round, lost in thought, taking photos, and just drinking it all in really.....................Hunger ensued, so we popped into a small café for a takeaway sandwich and a drink and sat outside between the Tower and the river, eating, chatting, and generally taking in the atmosphere.............So many people, all different nationalities, castes and creeds, but all taking it in...........We saw some of the guys from the Invictus Games too, paying their respects I should imagine..............
We went into the Tower ticket place, and had a look but then on a whim we decided we'd seen the poppies and that was what we'd come there to do, so instead we'd take a ride up the river on a boat!! We were right by the Quay where they go from, so we bought tickets for the next ride to Greenwich, which soon arrived. We bought singles as we all had day tickets for the Tube, and planned to get back to Paddington using those
The boat ride was something else! I'd never been under Tower Bridge like that before, and then we went right down the river - which was a lot choppier than I'd imagined - and past all of the riverside buildings, lots of apartments which I am sure cost a small fortune! Views behind us of The Shard, and The Gherkin, and a strangely shaped building, rather like Pooh's honeypot
We carried along the river, there was a commentary as we went, explaining where we were, and some of the history for us tourists ( ) and then along to Docklands, past Canary Wharf and The Isle of Dogs and finally with a fabulous view of the Cutty Sark we came into Greenwich, with its beautiful naval buildings When we got off we were staggering like drunks, until we got our land legs again
We walked around the base of the Cutty Sark, which is raised up high so you get a wonderful view of it! There was a man dressed as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, which was a hilarious sight! He really had the patter off to a tee
By this point we really wanted something to drink, so stepped into a likely looking pub, but almost immediately as we stepped through an open door there led us into Greenwich Market!! It was an amazing find, so unexpected, with lots of little stalls of exotic food, bric-a-brac and crafts!! I bought a sourdough and olive breadstick to take home for Mick, we looked at the earrings, and Ally nearly bought some shorts
A passing man offered to help her try them on 
After that we DID find a pub, and a sit down, right on the side of the market, and then it was time to think about making a move back towards Paddington, so we asked for directions but this random chap sent us round in a circle, plus the station signs for the Dockland Railway are light blue and not the bright red and black of the rest of the Underground, so it took us quite a while to find our way, then Ally had to check her ticket was valid as she'd been sold a different version of the day ticket, but it was all fine and we hopped on. We had to change then to get back onto the Tube proper, which we did at Bow, but we got on a District Line train (same platform) instead of the Hammersmith and City one we needed for Paddington, so had to change again at Aldgate - all of which slowed us up a little, so we were rather late at the Dickens pub, where Ria had booked us a table for 5pm, it was almost 6 when we got there!!
Still, Ria and Bb had bravely struggled on with a bottle of wine and were not toooo traumatised We had a lovely chat, some great wine, a delicious meal - I had a handmade burger, in a brioche bun with real chips, and I think Di had the same but with added bacon, Ally had the hunter's chicken, and I can't remember what Bb and Ria had
I had to leave first ( I really didn't want to!
) as my train was at 19.48 - luckily the station was very close by, and I found the information boards easily, so no panics However my train was delayed by almost 15 minutes, and the board announced that reserved seats no longer applied, so it was a bit of a stampede along Platform 1 to get a seat Luckily I found a great forward facing one next to a very charming chap who smiled and moved his bag for me Then it was off towards home - Mr Smiley got out at Reading, then the train got much quieter and I read my kindle and was totally engrossed in that until I got to Gloucester!! Mick was there to collect me and I was awfully glad of that, as I was really tired by then..............What a fabulous day, shared with the loveliest people, and seeing sights I'll never forget!
Perfect
I will post my pics on the photo board shortly - most of you will have seen them already on Facebook, but I'll pop them on, just in case
