It is 3pm, a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Amsterdam. I came here for the weekend with the purpose of enriching my cultural mind. Amsterdam is just the perfect place for that. After the most delicious portion of traditional Dutch pancakes, I head to the Hermitage museum- a dependency of the Hermitage of Saint Petersburg. One of the most lavish exhibitions ever presented in Europe- Russian Court Life, really got me thinking about living at the Russian court during the nineteenth century.

My second stop was the Van Gogh Museum, to see the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. I heard it’s the best place to really see Van Gogh’s development as an artist and compare his paintings with some other 19^th century artists.

Finally, after a stroll past the canals and a wander around the city I am planning to visit the Rijksmuseum to see the crème de la crème of the Golden Age paintings, the portraits of Rembrandt and get lost in the landscapes of Avercamp. What a wonderful city Amsterdam is. Art, art, plus more art. Fascinating! 

If you want to visit Amsterdam, Hotelopia has special offers. Enjoy!

Modern vampires don’t come from Transylvania (Romania) anymore, where the infamous Count Dracula was from. The movie New Moon from the Twilight Saga, for example, finds them in Forks, Washington. In this case, these blood-thirsty creatures live in a region full of lush forests and transparent lakes. It is the perfect place for people who enjoy wildlife to go on different nature walks. It rains heavily in the winter, but the summer is hot and sunny. Highway 101 runs through Forks, where you will come across the only stoplight on a 163 mile stretch. There are also Indian settlements nearby for you to visit. If you want to discover the real America of the deep south of the United States, your best bet would be to follow the trail of the True Blood vampires. This HBO TV series takes place in a small town in Louisiana. Heat, humidity and the sensation that an elderly lady is going to appear at any minute sitting on her porch swing, sipping an ice-cold lemonade. The movie Let the Right One In (fantastic, by the way!) puts a completely different spin on the vampire’s origins. This time, if you want to follow the vampire trail, it will take you to Stockholm, Sweden. Considering that the streets here in the winter are dark and bitterly cold, this spot is a good option for these creatures, who must hide from the penetrating rays of the sun. The idea of following a vampire’s trail could be a perfect excuse for organising a trip. A word of advice though: don’t forget to pack some garlic in your suitcase…just in case.

The passengers from the flight that just landed wait at the baggage claim belt, watching one sad and lonely (yes, its looks like it’s sad and lonely) suitcase go round and round, and although everyone watches it closely as it pushes through the wide straps hanging in front of the door and circles by, it doesn’t seem belong to anyone. What flight did it come in on? What is its destination? A voice on the loud speaker announces what everyone is waiting for: “your luggage is coming out.” The passengers straighten up and get in position to leap like tigers towards the belt as soon as they catch a glimpse of the bags they checked in. You always end up asking the question: “Is that one mine? “No, that one’s mine. Excuse me, I need to get through please, that suitcase is mine.” You examine every one: big ones, small ones, canvas ones, hardback ones, backpacks, bags; black, red, pink, with Mickey Mouse smiling back at you.” The minutes tick by and the other passengers from the plane seem to all find their bags and head off. When they finally get their hands on it, something inside them relaxes and they start to breathe easier: “Phew, it didn’t get lost.” The remaining passengers still have to suffer a few minutes more, thinking: “please don’t let this be the start of a bad day…” Some suitcases look similar and some are even identical. That’s why everyone has their own little trick to recognise their own bags: maybe a small scratch on the side, a sticker or a ribbon on the handle. Finally, all the passengers from the flight that just landed head off in different directions, toting along their luggage behind them. One sad and lonely (yes, it looks sad and lonely) suitcase carries on going round in circles on the belt. Then suddenly it occurred to me: Has anyone ever seen a suitcase on one of these belts in some airport around the world, like the ones that were auctioned off a few days ago in London? They were exclusive models from the luxury brand, Louis Vuitton, designed by celebrities such as the chef Ferran Adriá, the photographer Anne Leibovitz or the artist Damien Hirts. The 495,000 pounds (549,450 euros) that were paid for then will be donated to a Red Cross aid programme in the fight against malnutrition. What will those suitcases get used for? Will their owners take them on a trip with them? Will they go round in circles on a baggage claim belt at some airport? Will a ribbon get tied to them so that they can be identified easier?