Sky's the limit: The first hotel planned in space, Galactic Suite, expects to open in 2012 and will allow guests to travel the globe in 80 minutes.
Its architects say the space hotel will be the most expensive in the galaxy, costing $4 million (€3 million) for a three-day stay.
Guests could expect to see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls. Architect Xavier Claramunt says they have solved the issue of how to take a shower in weightlessness - the guests will enter a spa room in which bubbles of water will float around.
Snake on the loose
A 6ft long, colour-changing snake on the loose in Co Tyrone will die unless urgently located, its owner has warned. Cooper, a Hog Island Boa, vanished after slipping out of a vivarium in Gordon McFarland's Omagh home.
McFarland stressed the non-poisonous constrictor posed no public threat. But he admitted any new environment with dropped temperatures could prove fatal for his pet.
Psst. . .
Dublin's Iveagh Gardens, off Harcourt Street, are one of the city's hidden gems.
Seek out or avoid: share your holiday tip by e-mail: august@irish-times.ie
TODOTODAY:Be amazed by the aeronautical creations of 400 children in the Ark's Fantastical Flying Machines workshops at 3pm in Temple Bar's Meeting House Square.
More:www.ireland.com/the ticket/summerevents/
