Old City of Dubrovnik

One of the highlights of my 1st cruise last month with Royal Caribbean on Splendour of the Seas was visiting the old city of Dubrovnik. The old city still has its fortified walls, towers, narrow walkways and charm. It was awesome to get to walk around it and learn about it from my Croatian guide. At one time, the capital of the city-state of Ragusa, it was a trading power that rivaled Venice. Unbeknownst to the powers in the area i.e. Spain, Croatia (for a time) and the Ottoman Empire at that time, the Dubrovniks bought each power off and made fortunes trading with each of the powers. It remains 1 of the top tourist attractions in Croatia and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This is a picture of Stradun Street which is the main and widest street in Old Dubrovnik. All the buildings in the old city are built of stone presumably to help protect against fires.

Here is the clock tower in the old city. I thought it was pretty neat looking.

Jelly Belly Jellybeans at Arundel Mills Mall

One particular shop I like at Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Maryland is Sweets from Heaven. The reason I like them so much is because they offer over 40 different flavors of Jelly Belly gourmet jellybeans. Jelly Belly jellybeans are some of the best on the market and claim to be the #1 gourmet jellybean in the world. Price wise, the shop is equal to what you would pay on the Jelly Belly website http://www.jellybelly.com/Default.aspx. All the different flavors are priced at $2.25 per quarter pound (4 ounces). One particular flavor I'd recommend if you like peppermint is candy cane which is very pepperminty.

The shop sells other candies such as almond bark and candy corn though I can't tell you if those are any good. I go there just to buy Jelly Belly's. The shop is self service and, Jelly Belly's as well as a number of other candies are sold in bulk. The customer gets a bag and uses one of the scoops provided to scoop as much of each candy as they want. The shop has scales provided so, the customer can see how much they have and guesstimate how much their purchase will cost. When they're done getting what they want, they can take them up to the cashier and pay for them.

The shop's hours are:

Monday to Thursday - 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Friday & Saturday - 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday - 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

(Source: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sweets-from-heaven-hanover-3)

Happy snacking all!

A "The Hobbit" Movie Review

On Sunday December 23rd, I got to see the new movie "The Hobbit" by Peter Jackson at the Arundel Mills Mall Cinemax Theater. I'd been looking forward for some time to this movie. I expected it to be excellent and, it was. The movie is taken from the book "The Hobbit" written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1938 though the movie does have some changes from the book.

For starters, the character of Thorin Oakenshield is developed far more. We see him as a brave and inspirational leader determined to reclaim his lost home. Also, we learn more about the Necromancer who turns out to be Sauron who hides in the fortress of Dol Guldur. Another change is the introduction of Radagast the Brown who is living what would become Mirkwood. It's Radagast that discovers the Necromancer and informs Gandalf of it. Another change is the orc Azog. Azog was the orc chieftain living in Moria who started the Dwarf-Orc war that culminated in the battle of Azanulbizar. We see the battle in the movie BUT, the battle takes a different turn from what Tolkien told. Tolkien has Azog killed in the battle by a young (32 years old) Dain Ironfoot. In the movie, Jackson has Thorin cut off part of Azog's arm and, Thorin assumes he dies of his wounds. Azog doesn't and hunts down Thorin and his company with the intent of killing Thorin.

None of these changes hurt the movie and may enhance it. I suspect we'll end up caring more for the character Thorin and his death scene with Bilbo in the 3rd movie will be far more poignant. Also, the movie helps tie in some of what we see in Lord of the Rings. We see where Gandalf got the Elven blade Glamdring and the petrified trolls we see briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Concerning the 3D technology, I saw the movie in XD 3D. I didn't feel any nausea. I did notice that the images were sharper and, I think the colors were brighter. Those helped make the breathtaking outdoors scenes even more stunning. There are scenes that will knock your socks off in that way.

The movie itself is nearly 3 hours long but, it never drags. At the end, I found it hard to believe I had sat for nearly 3 hours in the theater. It didn't feel that long. There is lots of action with some humor thrown in to keep the movie from being too dark. We start to see Bilbo develop discover things about himself he doesn't know are there though I think Gandalf can see them. The movie ends at a good point with the band looking across Mirkwood to the far distant Lonely Mountain which is their ultimate objective. Jackson pans into the mountain and gives us a look inside where we see a huge eye open in a tantalizing glimpse of Smaug.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this movie. Any fan of Middle Earth should be delighted with it. It is so believable and well done. Howard Shore does another fine job score wise with the movie which helps create the appropriate moods. New Zealand itself shows its best in the movie and will tempt lots of people to visit this stunning country. Hopefully, by now, the theaters won't be so jam packed though the movie still pulled in over $35 million this past weekend. It wasn't when I saw the movie though I attended the 11:35 a.m. showing. Folks may be even tempted to see it a 2nd time as I am because, there is a LOT to take in. Happy viewing all!

Free Costco Tire Rotation

One plus you get when you buy a set of tires from Costco is free tire rotation during the life of the tires. This can save you some bucks on top of the good tire prices Costco offers. Recently, I visited the Arundel Mills (located in Hanover), Maryland Costco where I took them up on this offer again. The tire department was prompt, fast and courteous and the best part was there wasn't any charge for the service.

Another mixed blessing Costco offers tire wise is filling their tires up with nitrogen gas vice regular air. The reason they do this is so the tires maintain regular pressure at all times. Regular air expands when it gets heated and contracts (apparently) when it gets cold. This means your tire pressure can change based on the local temperatures. How inflated your tires are can have an effect on your gas mileage  Nitrogen doesn't expand or contract based on the temperature. This enables the tires to have a steady pressure and help get you more miles to the gallon. The down side is that nitrogen isn't available every where and, some of it does eventually escape the tires making it necessary for the car owner to get their tire pressure checked at Costco and if needed, get more nitrogen put in the tires. That's why I call it a mixed blessing because, it is a bit of a hassle to go to Costco to get your tires topped up with the nitrogen.

Happy driving all!

Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour

On November 16, 2012, I got to do Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour on their Splendour of the Seas ship. I thought I'd tell a bit about the tour for those who don't know what it is and what you'd get to see.

The All Access tour in a nutshell a behind the scenes tour of various areas of the ship passengers don't normally get to see. It gives them a glimpse of what life is like for crew members as well as how the ship is run. The tour does have a minimum sign up number which I guess is at least 6. I know on my first cruise, we had 4 people sign up for the tour and, the ship cancelled because that wasn't enough people. Also, the ship runs the tour while the ship is at sea. This makes it possible for passengers to take in any land tours they want to do while the ship is in port. The tour lasts at least 3 hours and, there are some narrow steps that people on the tour must be able to handle. As tour enters sensitive areas of the ship, tour members were escorted by ship security the entire tour and at 1 point, they had to undergo a security check to make sure they weren't carrying anything dangerous before they were allowed in some of the sensitive areas. Cost wise, the tour can cost $150 which I found pretty steep and kept me from taking it before. To my delight, during my 2 cruises, the Splendour of the Seas offered a special where you buy 1 get 1 free. What that means is you pay the $150 and, you get to take a friend a long for free. This breaks out to $75 per person which is the same price (or close to it) you would pay for a land excursion. I thought that reasonable.

Our tour group assembled at the customer relations desk where we were issued our special All Access badges. Then, with appropriate security escort, our tour director (sadly name forgotten) led us down into the areas never seen by other passengers.

The tour began on the 2nd deck where we met Martha Grimm, one of the ship's human relations people who lead us through the crew members club and dining room. She told us about various activities that were organized for crew members and how long the crew would serve on the ship before getting to take leave and go home. She told us that no more than 2 crew members were put in a single cabin.

After visiting the we got to visit the laundry department. The ship has its own miniature dry cleaners and laundry service with big dryers and double barrel washing machines that can wash 100 kilos of laundry at a time. Also, there are pressing machines to steam out any wrinkles in various ship uniforms. The laundry department was very extensive though it would have to be considering the staggering number of sheets, towels and crews uniforms they would need to wash.

Next, we were taken to the incinerator room where we were briefed by the environmental officer Malcolm (last name forgotten). He was in charge of making sure the ship followed all the international and national regulations concerning the disposal of liquid and solid waste. The incinerator room was more than where they burned trash. They had bottle breaker with a box underneath that caught the crushed glass which would later be recycled at various ports. Also, there was a machine for compacting cardboard boxes which were also recycled. Concerning waste water, the water would be treated on board the ship to a point where it was safe to release it. The regulations concerning where it would be safe to release it could vary greatly so, the environmental officer had to have copies of different countries rules on this in his small office.

After the briefing was over with the environmental officer, we headed up to deck 4 where we got to stand on the stage of the ship's theater and see what it was looked like for the ship's performers. One of the actresses briefed us on how the productions were run. She showed us the show manager's console that controlled the lights and coordinated things with various stage hands. Then, we headed to the men's wardrobe and the women's wardrobe where we got to see their various costumes. We found out how they changed them so fast (they use a lot of velcro which enables them to get the clothes off quick) as well as having the costumes custom fitted for each performer. Lastly, she told how performers would rotate between ship's and shows and how they would be selected for various shows.

Chief Engineer Aleksandr Petrov was the main man in charge of the ship's engines as well as surprisingly the ship's fire sensors. The engines are constantly monitored by computers who instantly show how they are running on consoles one of the ship's engineers are always monitoring them. I think each 1 of the engines could generate something like 17,000 horsepower though please don't quote me on that. As I mentioned, the other job the engineers have is monitoring the fire sensors throughout the ship. If a sensor should go off, the person in the engine room will contact ship security immediately and, they'll send someone to check it out. If need be, they can activate various fire suppressor systems in the ship.

Everyone expects great food on a cruise but, not every one knows all the hard work that goes into producing such fantastic food. My tour group got to visit the ship's galley where we were briefed by the ship's Executive Chef Michael Luik. Chef Luik has cooked for the Queen of England, the President of the United States, various European Prime Ministers and celebrities such a Phil Collins and Celine Dion. Wanting a new challenge, he hired on with Royal Caribbean and certainly found it there. He runs all the restaurants on the ship as well as managing cooks from 19 different countries with considerable different levels of ability. Some are brand new cooks while others are sous chefs who run different departments in the galley such as soups or vegetables. Also, he checks all incoming food shipments to make sure it's of the best quality and manages over 10,000 different items the restaurants and dining rooms use. Lastly and surprisingly, he also monitors the disposal of food waste to make sure it doesn't do any harm to the environment.

Last up was 1 of the highlights of the tour, we got to visit the bridge of the ship. The views from the bridge were AWESOME!!!!! We got to see the radar screens and 1 of the ship's officers briefed us on how they could identify different ships on the screens as well contact the ship's if necessary. Depending on what the ship is doing, the number of officers on the bridge can vary from 2 to 6. The more difficult the task, the more each task is broken down to prevent overload on each officer and make it possible for Captain Iv Vidos to know what exactly is happening with his ship. The ship itself is very maneuverable with front side thrusters and engine pods that can rotate 180 degrees if necessary. Also, the ship has stabilizers which are deployed when the ship is in open seas which cut down on the rocking of the ship. After a briefing by 1 of the subordinate officers, Captain Vidos himself showed up and spoke to us for a bit before very kindly agreeing to allow tour members to have their picture taken with him. I thought this was really nice.

After visiting the bridge, our tour was over. We were escorted back to the Centrum area of the ship where we were released. We were told we would receive 2 gifts as mementos from the tour. Later, I found an All Access tour tote bag and a kitchen apron in my cabin. They were very nice mementos of a great tour. If you can get the same deal I was able to get on this tour, I'd heartily recommend it. It is a very interesting tour that will show you how Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines do their "magic." Happy cruising all!!!!!

Olive Garden Italian Dressing

While shopping at my local Sam's Club, I saw they had Olive Garden's Signature Italian Dressing for sale. As I like the Olive Garden restaurant chain though I don't eat there very often, I decided to buy some of the dressing. I found the dressing very good on salad and, it does remind me of the dressing Olive Garden puts on their salads at their restaurants. I don't know if it's the same recipe or not. Price wise, the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club is selling 2 20 fluid ounce bottles of the dressing for $6.98 excluding tax. I thought this was a reasonable price and apparently better than you can find else where. Amazon has various sellers offering the dressing starting at $8.86 for the 2 bottle pack and, that doesn't include shipping. The dressing must be refrigerated once it's opened and, it should be shaken before being poured on whatever you're going to use it on.

Overall, I definitely give this dressing a thumbs up and recommend it if you like Italian salad dressings. It has a great flavor and will remind you of the fine Olive Garden restaurant chain. Bon Appetit!!!