Favorites: the Wanderlust Edition

In honor of the conclusion of my time in Africa,

I've compiled a collection of my favorite photographs I've taken while wandering around this earth the past four years--

those wanderings that took me out of Africa (with the exception of the first photo...).

For my favorite photographs from my years in Zimbabwe: go here!

For my favorite photographs from my years in Senegal: go here!

For my favorite photographs of animals: go here!

The Harbor at Sunset - Alexandria, Egypt - Egypt: Selected Photos

The cloisters at Toledo, Spain's Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes -- Toldeo's Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

The Cherry Blossom in harbor in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States - Sapphire sea the sun sails like a golden galleon

The sun through a storm of hail, thunder, lightning, and rain in Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming, United States

Yellowstone: The Sun Through the Storm

Peleș Castle - Transylvania, Romania - Peleș Castle...what a palace should look like!

Thomas Jefferson's Serpentine Walls near the Gardens, the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

The Lawn in Summertime

The beyond breathtaking dome of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain

Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena Cathedral

The Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and the Tidal Basin with the Washington, D.C., skyline.

Washington Monument: The World's Tallest Stone Structure

Hot air ballooning in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains!

Snapshots From the Air: Blue Ridge Mountains Ballooning!

Thermal area near West Thumb on Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming, United States

Yellowstone: Danger Thermal Area

A covered bridge in Woodstock, Vermont, United States

A wanderlust into the snows of New England

Sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Blowing Rock, North Carolina - Blowing Rock

The majestic snow-capped Rila Mountain, Rila Monastery - Bulgaria

Snow Capped Mountains? Stunning Monastery? Yes, please.

The Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia - The Old Town Alexandria Waterfront

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the U.S., Washington, D.C. - the Lincoln Memorial

That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Traveling along the stunning Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina - The Blue Ridge Parkway

Tweet

An Old Town Smorgasbord

The sunset approaching over the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Every street in Old Town feels so wonderfully full of Americana!

King St.

The Potomac River

An American in Paris and King Street

Christ Church in Old Town

Old Town is full of fantastically bright doors!

Tweet

A Little Virtue, a Little Crab Shack, and a Little Coca Cola

Virtue Feed & Grain in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Old Town.

A floral shop (and cat!) in Old Town

Old Town

Ernie's Crab House in Old Town

Why hello there old Coca Cola sign!

Tweet

Sapphire sea the sun sails like a golden galleon

The Cherry Blossom in harbor in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States

The twilight of the day was breathtaking with the boats and water of Old Town's harbor.

The harbor.

The Cherry Blossom overlooking more of the harbor and boats.

The Potomac River.

The path next to Founder's Park and the Potomac River in Old Town.

This series of photos and all the fantastic memories I have of Old Town Alexandria

reminded me of this poem--the inspiration for the post's title:

A Day of Sunshine

                                                                                                 O gift of God! O perfect day:

                                                                                                  Whereon shall no man work, but play;

                                                                                                  Whereon it is enough for me,

                                                                                                   Not to be doing, but to be!

                                                                                                   Through ever fiber of my brain,

                                                                                                   Through every nerve, through every vein,

                                                                                                   I feel the electric thrill, the touch

                                                                                                   Of life, that seems almost too much.

                                                                                                   I hear the wind among the trees

                                                                                                   Playing celestial symphonies;

                                                                                                   I see the branches downward bent,

                                                                                                   Like keys of some great instrument.

                                                                                                   And over me unrolls on high

                                                                                                   The splendid scenery of the sky,

                                                                                                   Where through a sapphire sea the sun

                                                                                                   Sails like a golden galleon,

                                                                                                   Towards yonder cloud-land in the West,

                                                                                                   Towards yonder Islands of the Blest,

                                                                                                   Whose steep sierra far uplifts

                                                                                                   Its craggy summits white with drifts.

                                                                                                   Blow, winds! and waft through all the rooms

                                                                                                   The snow-flakes of the cherry-blooms!

                                                                                                   Blow, winds! and bend within my reach

                                                                                                   The fiery blossoms of the peach!

                                                                                                   O Life and Love! O happy throng

                                                                                                   Of thoughts, whose only speech is song!

                                                                                                   O heart of man! canst thou not be

                                                                                                   Blithe as the air, and as free?

                                                                                                   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tweet

Hints of Americana in Old Town Alexandria

Americana in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States

King St, Old Town Alexandria

King St.

How can you not love, love, love Old Town?

Bittersweet Cafe in Old Town Alexandria

More Americana on a bicycle in Old Town

Tweet

The Old Town Alexandria Waterfront

The Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Old Town's waterfront.

Hello, Potomac River!

Part of the Washington, D.C. skyline as seen from Old Town.

For some reason, this seat amused me endlessly.

Hello, Alexandria bird!

Tweet