Houses and Gardens of England (and Ireland)

I can't believe I have been so delinquent.  September is my favorite time to vacation.  All the kids and tourists are gone back to wherever they belong and the place takes on a more relaxed mood.
This blog will cover the trip thematically rather than serially.
We started in Kent, also called the Garden of England,  and it truly deserves the title.

We started with Chartwell House, the private residence of Winston Churchill.  Apart from being a wonderfully preserved museum to Winston Churchill (who died broke by the way and his house was donated to the state by some friends who bailed him out), Chartwell shows off Churchill's other great loves - the English countryside and gardening

The gardens are beautifully preserved by the National Trust

Chartwell is a stone's throw away from Orpington, the birthplace of Ginger's lineage.  This could be a distant feathered cousin.  

Our next stop was Ightham Moat (pronounced Ita) a 700 year old grade A listed house (they have so many they can do this).

This one has a special treat - a national trust preserved dog kennel that can be seen in the courtyard below.

The vegetable garden.

 A walled garden with classic english border

Now here is where we jump countries - the war memorial in Dublin with fabulous rose garden, looking its best following the Queen's visit

The luckiest donkey in the world, in the residences of the Irish Government at Phoenix Park.