Along with the Cinque Terre region of Italy, La Flotte in Ile de Re is one of the prettiest small towns I have visited in Europe. On Ile de Re every house has a strict colour palette which includes a choice of 18 shades of paint for the shutters and windows (blue/green/grey). All buildings are simple plan with red terracotta roofs. All houses are either white or cream and are adorned with beautiful flowers including hollyhocks. We visited in October so a lot of the flowers were no longer in bloom but you get an idea from my photographs. The old port area is so quaint and charming. It is really laid back with lovely residential areas. If you are looking for a really charming place to visit, check out La Flotte.

Still waiting for Summer to arrive here in Ireland. In the meantime here are some photos of the seaside town of Bundoran in County Donegal along the Wild Atlantic Way. I visit quite often and enjoy the long walks along the cliffs. It looks so much better when the sun is shining too.

There is a great indoor water park for the family just along the sea front. Along the cliff walk called Rougey Walk there are great views back over the town and also to Tullan Strand which is a haven for surfers. You can spot the Fairy Bridges along the walk and the  wishing chair where people have made their wishes and left some money for the fairies. The views of the Atlantic Ocean are breathtaking and you will see some more of them if you explore my blog.

The beach in the town itself is very family friendly while the beach at Tullan Stand is used for surfing and other adventure sports. It is really pretty with a dramatic backdrop of sand dunes and hills. 

The town itself has lots of shops and restaurants and the Great Northern Hotel, Golf and Leisure Centre is perched on the cliff top overlooking the  ocean.

So when your planning your next trip out along the Wild Atlantic Way be sure to stop by the seaside town of Bundoran.

Sunday we decided to hit the road and enjoy a few hours in the good weather. We decided to visit Bundoran in County Donegal along the Wild Atlantic Way. The sea air is good for the soul and there is nothing like spending a nice sunny day at the seaside. Here are a few images of our day.

{All images my own}

Have you seen the new Cath Kidston Competition Brighten up Your Town and Win a Bespoke Limited Edition Wall Art featuring the top landmarks of your town. How exciting it that?

For more details visit Cath Kidston

This Sunday I had a fully charged camera to bring on our trip to Lovely County Leitrim. Why not explore all the lovely sites I saw. It was dry and sunny but cold at times. I hope you like the photographs. The first is of the courthouse, It was converted into a gallery/ theatre and design house for arts and crafts.

Here are a few of the boats that travel along the Shannon Erne Waterway in Carrick on Shannon.

A pretty quaint courtyard which now houses a coffee shop but it was closed when we were there.

   

Another view of the boats at the waterfront.

Again the old cut stone courtyard buildings, I think they have markets here on Thursdays.

More cruise boats

This is said to be the smallest Church in Ireland, isn't it very quaint. I couldn't get a great photograph of it as there was a car on the street blocking the view.

We went on a stroll through this wee urban park which lead to the waterfront.

And came across this converted church which is now a restuarant.

And a closer look, it is nicely restored, I love when old ecclesiastical buildings are converted into new uses.

A Georgian house which was located next to the courthouse, very grand indeed.

Pretty cherry blossoms I just had to photograph them, they are such lovely trees with their perfect pink petals.

This landscaping was in a small village we passed through, isn't it pretty with the bog oak sculpture and the water feature.

And across from this sculpture was this wee railway man on the signage to mark the village railway station

So there you have it, our tour on Sunday, it was quite short but there was lots to see. We hope to make it to the seaside some of the weekends soon :o) I love the sea air and I'll be sure to take some photographs to share with you all :o)

This post is all over the place, I have just posted on things that I came across this weekend, so apologies if it doesn't really make sense or flow properly.

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Firstly here are more of my sketches and ground figure analysis from Urban Design Module. I like looking at the layout, form and pattern of development of urban centres in this way. You can see clearly the road layouts and open space within the urban centres.

Some more sketches for a development brief project in University

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Still very cold here in Ireland, it started to thaw a little today but it has started to snow now, today I took a trip to some of our lakes which are still frozen over, here are a few photographs, the gardai have a problem with people walking out onto the lakes and even driving on them, I wouldn't chance it though.

I also passed these cows on the farm, one of them I call the dwarf cow as it never grew fully and therefore has a larger than average head for its body :) Cute ain't they! Still no water here! :(