The National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) is one of the great museums of Barcelona which is saying a lot (dare I say this is in Spain?). The city is teeming with any number of iconic museums and great artists: Miró, Dali, Picasso, not to mention Gaudí who left an ongoing legacy sprinkled throughout. The Romanesque and Gothic influence is unmistakeable everywhere you look. So, don’t forget to look up from time to time. Unfortunately, I do not remember which part of the museum I was in when I took this shot. but, it was beautiful and I had to make it today’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Colorful Dome of the MNAC in Barcelona is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Biscotti is an old friend of mine. We go way back. Having now traveled to Italy I learned that biscotti has been holding out on me. He’s never introduced me to his BFF Vin Santo (Holy Wine). I guess that’s where the old Italian saying comes from, ¨They go together like biscotti and Vin Santo.¨ This isn’t the stuff you get at your corner Catholic Church. This is a lovely sweet dessert wine perfect for a mild send off from lunch or dinner.  Biscotti, I don’t blame you for not introducing me to your friend before now. It’s inevitable that I would friend jump. After all, this homemade sweet nectar is irresistible. But I have plenty of love for you both. You could never be replaced. The more the merrier. I got this Suh-Weet Shot at the home of The Truffle Hunter in the Umbria region of Italy. The weather was fierce that day and my umbrella didn’t make it so I didn’t get to hunt any truffles (This post from Larissa at ChangesinLongitude has the photographic evidence). Regardless, it was a great morning and lunch. A thank you is due to our warm hosts, Matteo and Elisa, for their kind hospitality (and over-the-top truffle goodness) as well as the fine people at UmbriaontheBlog for their help in organizing our tour around the Umbria Region.

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Classic Italian Dessert: Biscotti and Vin Santo is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Just going to leave this beautiful Suh-Weet Shot from Paris, France  here for you to admire. I am in love with this pic.

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Sacré Coeur Seen From the Musée d’Orsay is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

In previous Suh-Weet Shots, I showed off the cliffs of Ireland and a beautiful old Irish castle, both on the west coast. Of course, the most renowned thing to see in western Ireland are the cliffs of Moher. Steep dropoffs into the cold North Atlantic are seen from the lookout platform. If I’m being 100% honest, they are beautiful and are great for photographs, but I wasn’t awestruck either. Maybe it was the day. Maybe it was my expectations. It should definitely be part of your itinerary, but you won’t need more than an hour, especially if the day is wet and overcast like the day I took this shot.

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The Cliffs of Moher is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Today is my niece’s birthday so for today’s Suh-Weet shot I thought I would post a photo from our trip together to Greece. During my career break, I had the chance to travel with her for three weeks around the country. We packed in a full itinerary: Crete, the windmills of Mykonos, a sunset in Mykonos, a sunset in Santorini, and the red beach of Santorini (among many, many other beaches around Greece), we spent a good deal of time in Athens. It gets a bit of a bad rap. But, we loved it. Our hotel had a panoramic view of the city and our room had a direct view of the Parthenon. In addition to seeing the traditional sites in the city, we used Athens as our base to take day trips to Delphi and the surrounding islands. While Greece wasn’t my favorite country, traveling to Greece with my niece was definitely one of the highlights of my career break.

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Sprawling Athens to the Sea is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Fountain in Gubbio, Umbria, Italy

Traveling around Umbria, Italy was a pleasant surprise. With places like Rome and Tuscany getting most of the attention, it’s easy to overlook many of Italy’s other regions. I stayed in Gubbio, a small town to the northeast of Perugia. Known for its stone architecture throughout the town and its Corsa dei Ceri festival in May, it was the kind of place I could imagine myself hanging out for a few days while traveling in Italy. During our walk around town, this small fountain caught my eye and I loved it’s position against the old, tall building behind it. I caught a few angles but this photo was my choice for this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

Note: My tour was provided courtesy of the tourism board of Umbria.

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Fountain in Gubbio, Italy is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

When the sun goes down, Mykonos heats up! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

As I’ve mentioned before there aren’t many bad sunsets in Greece. So, after you’ve checked out the windmills on Mykonos, head a little further down to get a seat in a bar or restaurant to enjoy the sunset. I captured this on my trip to Greece with my niece. We had spent this day at the beach (of course) and touring around on a scooter, which I would avoid the next time. Those little engines can’t handle the hills on the island. After a frustrating day on the scooter, we were able to relax, enjoy the sunset and capture this Suh-Weet Shot.

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Sunset in Mykonos is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

The rocky cliffs on the west coast of Santorini. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

After you’ve spent a day at the red beach on Santorini, head over to one of the many cliffside restaurants for a sundowner and a seafood dinner. While traveling in Greece, you almost can’t find a bad place to see the sun set, or at least be ready to see the sun rise. I guess it depends if you are an early riser or a night owl. Warning, there will be a lot to tempt you to the night owl side! While having dinner with my niece one night, I caught this photo of the cliffside buildings against the sunset in the back. Enjoy this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Sunset in Santorini is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Up, up and away! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

I don’t have much to say about this photo. To me it’s a quintessential shot of Paris in the summer. On this trip to France, I didn’t get a chance to ride the big ferris wheel. Then again, I had already done so on my first trip to the city in 2005. As I passed it by on a mostly clear summer day, I couldn’t help  but capture this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Ferris Wheel in Paris is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

With the cheetahs in South Africa. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

In a few weeks I’m off to Italy to speak at the Travel Bloggers Unite conference. One of the sponsors is Oyster Worldwide, a company that specializes in volunteer experiences for gappers and career breakers. They are giving away a trip to a blogger to go volunteer in Romania at a bear sanctuary. Who knew Romania had bears?? Well, probably everyone except me. Putting my ignorance aside, I want to now make my case for why I should be selected for this two-week trip. Here are my top 10 reasons.

In Torres Del Paine in Patagonia. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

1. Genuine interest in the bears. I love being around animals and that probably is a result of having grown up in rural Texas. Besides dogs and cats, we had pigs, goats, chickens, fish, guinea pigs and even orphaned deer as pets. And, after filming my episode about volunteering at Monkeyland in South Africa, I really became interested in doing something similar myself.
2. Hard working fool. Some might just say ¨fool.¨ But, I’d be ready to jump in and get working with whatever is needed.
3. Have a leg up on the language. OK, I don’t speak Romanian. But, I do speak Spanish fluently. So, I think I could have some kick-ass basic Romanian quickly.
4. Love me some mountains! As a former resident of the state of Colorado in the US, I love exploring the mountains. I also had some great experiences in the Andes in South America. So, I would love to have the chance to explore the Carpathians by foot and camera.
5. In need of a career break myself. I know, it doesn’t seem as much of a benefit to you. But, after working hard to get the site and travel show off the ground, I could use a break and the chance to give back, to practice what I preach. And, that would come through in the writing. So, I wouldn’t be pretending to be on a break. I’d actually be on one making the writing all that more authentic.
6. The Dracula Factor. OK, I admit it. The fact that the sanctuary is in the heart of Transylvania does make the experience even more interesting.
7. Audience match. Let’s talk turkey. My site is all about career breaks and how to get the most out of your trip. Volunteering on a career break is the second most popular activity for career breakers (but you probably knew that). People come to the site looking for advice not only about how to leave their job, but also what life is like on the road and to follow my travels. I focus a lot of time talking about how to make the big trip count. So naturally, volunteering is one of the best ways to do that. Frankly, I would love to be able to write about the topic from a first-hand perspective.
8. Active social media presence: The site’s growing (400% last year), as is our social media presence (Facebook: almost 1050+ fans, Twitter: 2600+ followers, Klout: 50-51 range, and I’m active on StumbleUpon). Once we get the content up, I share it early and often.
9. Mix of content to deliver. In addition to the stories, I can also take lots of great photos and if I get some really good pics, a few might be part of my Suh-Weet Shots series. Depending on the working conditions and what’s happening on the ground, I might be able to get a video or two done.
10. Early bird gets the worm, right??? Surely there must be a few extra brownie points awarded for getting this well before the conference.

I can't promise the animals will like me! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

So, to the good folks at Oyster Worldwide, please pick me!!

And to my readers, please let the folks at Oyster Worldwide know your support for me winning the trip to Romania!

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Volunteering for the Bears of Romania is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures