Christmas on the beach

By Richard Pendlebury, Daily Mail

Last updated at 10:39 09 December 2002


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What is Miami Beach famous for? Warm winters, Art Deco hotels, trendy 訪問者s? Yes - but the dimensions of its Christmas tree?

明らかに, which American city has the tallest 市民の tree at Yuletide is a big 取引，協定. The usual 勝利者 is the evergreen leviathan outside the Rockefeller Centre in Manhattan.

This year, however, Miami was puffing out its sun-bronzed chest; the 110ft high Norwegian spruce outside the Holiday Inn, downtown, was even bigger than the one in New York City.

With that characteristic American fondness for taking the trivial 本気で, the tree was adorned by a 証明書 (certified by whom was not （疑いを）晴らす) 布告するing itself to be the whole country's No 1.

And, to 追加する to the gee-whiz factor, it was festooned with 40,000 lights.

Now this alone might not send you 急ぐing, goggle-注目する，もくろむd with curiosity, to Miami this Christmas, as the city tourist 長，指導者s would like.

But there are many other 推論する／理由s why a family may consider a trip to southern Florida over the festive season.

The 気温 is one of course. December is the month of the year in which Miami Beach usually has the least 降雨, while 持続するing what we British would consider to be summer's heat.

Another could be is that it isn't Orlando.

Orlando, which attracts more than 30 million 訪問者s a year, is the 中心 of the 主題 park universe. Children love Orlando, but parents can be equivocal. After all, the attractions are shamelessly 人工的な.

An 代案／選択肢 is to 目的（とする） 200 miles その上の southeast, to the city of Miami, with its wide, almost-white beache s, 初めの hotels, cafes and restaurants, museums, fabulous architecture and still plenty to do for the children.

'Someone gets 殺人d in Miami every day' and 'a man looked at us funny' are the first two things my nine-year-old son, Will, a 最近の 訪問者 to the city, will tell you when asked his impressions.

But he is going through a morbid 行う／開催する／段階.

Miami has 苦しむd from its 評判 as a 罪，犯罪 hotspot. But the city 当局 have made a real 成果／努力 to 改善する 事柄s and the 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の regeneration of the South Beach Art Deco 地区 has helped 運動 problems away from the areas that tourists たびたび（訪れる）.

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