Offbeat Traveler: Unusual Christmas trees around the world
If you’re looking to buy holiday cheer this year, put this solid gold Christmas tree on your shopping list. The 7.8-foot tall tree, on display at the Ginza Tanaka jewelry store in Tokyo, is made from about 90 pounds of gold and costs about $4.3 million. (Itsuo Inouye / Associated Press)
The tree is decorated with ornaments shaped like Disney characters. (Itsuo Inouye / Associated Press)
Fireworks light up the sky during the inauguration of the floating Christmas “tree” in Rio de Janeiro’s Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon. The 279-foot tall metallic structure, dubbed the world’s tallest floating Christmas tree by the Guinness Book of Records, is lit by over three million lights and weighs 542 tons. (Antonio Scorza / AFP/Getty Images)
This year, the pine tree that normally decorates La Grand-Place square in Brussels during the holidays has been replaced by an electric tree. The installation, titled “Xmas 3,” debuted at the end of November and will remain on display until Dec. 28. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert / Associated Press)
The Dr. Seuss-themed “Grinchmas tree” at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City. The curvacious tree is part of the theme park’s Grinchmas celebration, which includes celebrity readings of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”, a playground with real snow and a recreation of Whoville. (Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)
Bicyclists generate electricity to light the Christmas tree in the Beirut Souks shopping district. The tree is decorated with Christmas greetings written in different languages. (Nabil Mounzer / EPA)
A metal Christmas tree decorates Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square. (Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press)
