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

Puente de San Martin and the Tagus River

The walls of Toledo, Spain.

The Tagus River and Toledo's walls.

The view of Toledo from the medieval Puente de San Martin.

The Tagus River and Toledo.

The St. Martin Bridge.

The countryside as seen from Toledo.

Tweet

A Walled Beauty

Toledo, Spain is a walled, protected city.

  Toledo's surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River.

  The countryside and the Tagus River next to Toledo's walls.

  Now just pause a moment and think of why such imposing defensive walls were needed. It's quite sobering.

 
It is a huge visual reminder of Europe's tumultuous past.

 
It leaves a stunning beauty to Toledo today.

Tweet

Alcazar and the Puerta del Cambron

The view of Toledo, Spain's lands as seen from Alcazar.

Alcazar -- Toledo, Spain

Alcazar.

Puerta del Cambron -- Toledo.

Inside Puerta del Cambron, one of the gates into the walled city of Toledo.

This tourist train made me think of this one that I stumbled upon in Dakar.

What is the Alcazar of Toledo?

Tweet

Toledo's Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

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

The monastery's garden with its lovely orange tree.

The workmanship in the monastery was beyond beautiful.

The monastery was founded to commerorate the birth of Prince John and the Spanish victory at the Battle of Toro in 1476.

The late afternoon sunlight casts its shadows.

Even the stairwells were stunningly beautiful.

For more information on the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes (with some photos of the church).

The monastery's website.

Tweet

The Streets of Toledo

I loved that you stumbled upon mosaics in the most wonderful and unexpected places while strolling through Toledo, Spain.

Toledo's streets make you wonder if you've walked into a romantic movie.

It's difficult not to become enamored with Toledo.

The top of the Gothic cathedral.

Toledo.

Toledo's train station.

The train station's beautiful stain glass.

Tweet

Holy Toledo, Batman!

Toledo, Spain, is filled with small, lively streets and beautiful buildings.

It's difficult not to fall in love with the stones, the hills, winding paths, and old buildings.

The cathedral peeking out.

Toledo felt like the type of city that you could stroll around all day and be lost in pleasant thoughts.

The city is a UNESCO world heritage site.

The cathedral.

One entrance to the cathedral.

The cathedral is Gothic and dates from the Thirteenth Century.

For more information on the extremely interesting city of Toledo.

Tweet