If you wish you could go to Europe and explore the relics of the Renaissance but don't have the money to drop on a plane ticket then we have the next best thing in our own backyard. If you can't travel to Europe not to worry Europe has been painstakingly brought to you brick by brick in the form of this incredible Spanish Monastery that was completed in the year of 1141 AD which was 360 years before Columbus even set sail for the New World! The monastery was built in Sacramenia Spain. I don't know how Spain feels about having their treasure here but it was taken at a time when there was less thought given to plundering the treasures of other nations and taking them from their native lands. Due to a social revolution in the 1830's in Spain the monastery was seized from the monks living there and turned into a stable. It was at this point that newspaper titian William Randolph Hearst bought the the Cloisters and outbuildings and had them dismantled, packed in 11,000 crates, and shipped to the US. An outbreak of hoof and mouth disease thought to be carried in the straw of the crates and Hearst's financial problems caused the boxes to remain in storage in NY for the next 26 years. After Hearst dies William Edgemon and Raymond Moss purchased the Cloisters and paid 13 million dollars to reassemble it. After it was reconstructed it was purchased by Robert Pentland Jr. a wealthy benefactor of the church and today the Monastery is once again home to an active congregation, the Church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux.

We arrived at the Monastery in the later part of the afternoon. The normal price to enter is $10 for adults and $5 for students. The credit card machine was down so for $10 cash they let us in. You enter through the museum and gift shop. There are many interesting relics from the Middle Ages on display. The hymnarium is an 800 year old handwritten collection of hymns written in berries on lambskin parchment. There is also a suit of armor from the 1600's from Hearst's own collection.

From the museum you enter into the gardens. There you will find an iron gate with an image of the Spanish nobleman who owned it on top. You can also see a stone with the date of 1141!

From the garden you enter into the South Cloisters, the Chapel, the East Cloisters, and the North Cloisters. There is literally a treasure around every corner. Be sure to pick up a free guide in the gift shop before you leave so that you can have a self guided tour.

This place is an incredible treasure. I think it is so crazy to be standing in front of something so old with the skyscrapers of Miami peeking out from behind it. I also love the friendly Monastery cats who come up to you for a little love. If you haven't been to this unique attraction you need to cross it off your list. No need to go to Spain just pay a visit to North Miami.