There has been a lot of chatter lately about the overuse of the word "epic." If you want to know the true definition of that word, then look no further than this story about two Irish adventurers who made an incredible journey from Istanbul, Turkey to Shanghai, China – finishing up yesterday.

Maghnus Collins and David Burns set out on their long distance odyssey last March with a plan to cover the 14,000 km (8700 miles) on bike, foot and water. Their journey took them along the old Silk Road trade route between Europe and Asia, crossing over the Himalaya and rafting down one of the most iconic rivers in the world – the Yangtze. Along the way they helped raise nearly €25,000 ($33,450) for Self Help Africa, an organization dedicated to helping rural Africa gain economic strength.

Collins and Burns' called their expedition Sand2Snow Adventures. The duo rode their bikes across the first stage, covering 8000 km (4970 miles) from Istanbul to Kathmandu before transitioning to foot. They then proceeded to run an additional 1000 km (621 miles), at one point running 25 marathons in 27 days across the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau. Finally, they finished up their journey by rafting more than 6300 km (3914 miles) down the Yangtze, ending on the Bund in Shanghai. That was quite a contrast to earlier sections of the journey when they encountered no other living souls for days on end. At one point, while on the river, they actually traveled for 17 straight days without seeing another person. 

On this excursion the two men faced a host of challenges in addition to the physical, mental and geographical ones that you would expect. For instance, at one point they lost their raft that included much of their gear, including Collins' passport. While running through the Himalaya they also wore "appalling blisters" on their feet and after one particular run Collins was even pissing blood. In the end, they were even racing the clock, as their Chinese visas were set to expire in just a few days and it was important that they reach the finish line before they did.

Sounds like it was an amazing experience and I'm sorry I wasn't following it more closely when it was going on. Better late than never I suppose. Congratulations to Maghnus and David on a job well done. 

Definition of a great city: a place that makes virtue out of vice and knows exactly where to find fun. Welcome to Dublin, contender for greatest city in Europe. At first glance, it’s kind of difficult to see why. Dublin isn’t as sexy or as sultry as other European capitals, the architecture is a bit of a jumble and it seems everyone has something to complain about. Dubs can be brutally unsentimental about their city, but their warts-and-all attachment is born out of a genuine love of a place that oozes personality, a city whose soul and sociability makes it the most

charismatic of capitals.
Sure, the almost mythical economic growth of the last 15 years and the explosion of multiculturalism, which has seen people settle in the city from fields as far flung as Nairobi and Nagoya, have given the city a cosmopolitan strut and swagger it never had before – not to mention a whole new world of distractions and delights to rival those of any other city of comparable size. But Dublin’s greatest draw remains Dubliners themselves, both native-born and blown in.

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Few countries have a tourist image so plagued by cliché as Ireland. From shamrocks and shillelaghs to leprechauns, lovable rogues and 40 shades of green, there’s a plethora of platitudes to wade through before you scramble ashore on the real Ireland.But it’s well worth looking beyond the tourist tat, for the Emerald Isle (oops, there we go again) is one of Europe’s gems, a scenic extravaganza of lake, mountain, sea and sky that’s still gorgeous enough to make your jaw drop despite the best efforts of developers to scar some of the most beautiful bits with serried ranks of holiday homes. From the lonely, wind-lashed wilderness of Donegal to the picture-postcard harbour villages of County Cork, there are countless opportunities to get outdoors and explore, whether it’s surfing the beach breaks of Bundoran, cycling the coast of County Antrim, or hiking the hills of Kerry and Connemara.

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Start of construction is planned for the year 2008, while in 2011 skyscraper will be completed. Investing in the U2 Tower amount to 140 million pounds sterling (about 290 million dollars).

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in more than 20 countries around the world, but the biggest celebrations can obviously be found in Ireland. After a church mass to honor St. Patrick, the entire country celebrates this holiday. It took the city of Dublin 18 months to prepare for this year's five-day-long celebration, which will take place from March 15-19.

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