Miami, Florida

Far and away the most exciting city in Florida, Miami is an often intoxicatingly beautiful place, with palm trees swaying in the breeze and South Beach's famous Art Deco buildings stunning in the warm sunlight. Away from the beaches and the tourists, the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown herald Miami's proud status as the headquarters of many US corporations' Latin American operations. Even so, it's the people, not the climate, the landscape, or the cash, that makes Miami so noteworthy. Two-thirds of the two-million-plus population is Hispanic, the majority of which are Cuban, and Spanish is the predominant language almost everywhere.

Just over a hundred years ago Miami was a swampy outpost of mosquito-tormented settlers. The arrival of Henry Flagler's railroad in 1896 gave the city its first fixed land-link with the rest of the continent, and cleared the way for the Twenties property boom. In the Fifties, Miami Beach became a celebrity-filled resort area, just as thousands of Cubans fleeing the regime of Fidel Castro began arriving here as well. The Sixties and Seventies brought decline, and Miami's dangerous reputation in the Eighties was well deserved – in 1980 the city had the highest murder rate in America.

Since then, with the strengthening of Latin American economic links and the gentrification of South Beach – which helped make tourism the lifeblood of the local economy again in the early Nineties – Miami is enjoying a surge of affluence and optimism.

Most Sinful New Year's Eve Getaways

Let’s face it: it’s not difficult to give in to sloth. That’s especially true in the Caribbean, where sleeping in, lying on sugary white-sand beaches, and lounging in hammocks is practically a requirement. Then, of course, it’s easy for gluttony to take over, as you roll right into an extravagant dinner and a long night of drinking.

But what’s wrong with that? After all, 2009 was a year of scrimping and saving, of working harder and playing less. Just as we began living more socially and environmentally responsible lives, we also took fewer vacations, rarely shopped, and seldom opted for dinners out. It’s time to blow off some steam, and New Year’s Eve—the most hedonistic of holidays—is the best chance to do it. So to set you off down the path of indulgence, we’ve put together 10 New Year’s getaway ideas inspired by the seven deadly sins.

Sinful getaways may not exactly be a trend—after all, more and more travelers are seeking out authentic, local experiences. In our 2010 trends report, for example, we see dining at underground supper clubs and shopping for everyday items to take home as souvenirs becoming more popular—hardly extravagant activities. That’s even more reason to make a sinful statement this New Year’s.

So where to go? Certain destinations naturally emerge as sinful winners. For that slothful beach bumming, try the Grenadines. These Caribbean islands are far removed not only from any urban bustle, but from any bustle at all. In fact, they offer little more than exclusive hotels and miles of powdery white sand.

Where sloth leads, gluttony easily follows. And while there’s nothing new about celebrating the New Year with a cocktail in hand, food and wine lovers might want to ring in 2010 with a decadent tasting tour of California’sNapa Valley. Drop by the omnipresent tasting rooms for samples from some of America’s best vineyards, then make gluttonous stops at Michelin-starred restaurants like French Laundry or newcomer Bottega.

After all that eating and lounging, though, it may be tough to take pride in your appearance. For that, we recommend heading to the newest outlet of wellness resort Canyon Ranch, in Miami. You’ll need to look good—the city is home to America’s best-looking people. But after a few days of personal training and high-tech spa treatments, you’ll blend right in with South Beach’s poolside model contingent.

Of course, life can’t be all about hedonistic pleasures. So with each of our sinful getaways, we offer a suggestion on how to atone—after all, there’s no need to start 2010 with a guilty conscience.

Wackiest New Year's Eve Ball Drops

Not everyone will be toasting 2012 with champagne. In Bartlesville, OK, the biggest drink is, literally, a martini: locals drop a massive olive into a glass from the top of a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed skyscraper.

New Year’s Eve is ultimately about the countdown, and it’s made official whensomething drops at midnight. Across America, places like Bartlesville have gotten creative. Some wacky drops pay tribute to local products or tastes, while others just go all-out outrageous. Whether you’re braving the crowds or watching in a hotel room, cheering a drop is part of the year-end spectacle—before the hangover and resolutions kick in.

The ball drop tradition dates back only to the early 1900s, when New York Times owner Alfred Ochs, whose offices were in Times Square, cochampagne, nvinced the city to let him throw a grand party. The first 400-pound iron and wood orb featured 100 bulbs and was lowered down a flagpole. Now it’s an 11,875-pound, 12-foot geodesic globe encrusted with 2,688 Waterford crystals.

Roughly a million people flock to see that Times Square ball in person, and millions more tune in around the world. There’s a shared quality to the scenes of fireworks, noisemakers, and partygoers in public squares and crowded bars that flash across TV screens as time zone after time zone counts down. But which object gets dropped is very much a local choice.

Take Key West, FL, which may not have Waterford crystals, but makes its own flamboyant New Year’s statement. For more than a decade, locals have cheered outside a bar on Duval Street as a red ruby high-heeled shoe —with a drag queen named Sushi seated inside—is lowered from the balcony.

There are actual food drops, too, that offer a visual bite of local delicacies. Atlanta, for instance, releases an 800-pound fiberglass-and-foam peach. Known for its multimillion-dollar melon industry, Vincennes, IN, raises an 18-foot watermelon into the sky, which then opens to release 12 real Knox County watermelons.