Miami Florida...A Hot Place to Visit as the Temp Gets Cool..

It's hardly winter and October just started, but for anyone that lives in the North East or North West areas of the US a crisp bite in the air can be felt. No doubt fall is here and visions of summer memories are already more than a month past. That should hardly mean that for those
of you untethered to family or children better stated, that options and getaways to some of the worlds greatest sun soaked destinations are out of reach.



This post is dedicated to Miami Florida and general area
of southern Florida. A great place to vacation and continue to soak in
the rays of the oh so wonderful sun. The spotlight attraction is the
Ancient Spanish Monestary located specifically in North Miami Beach
16711 West Dixie Highway. The Ancient Spanish Monestary official site is here for further review. The Monastery is open Mondays thru Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Sundays 12 Noon to 4:30 PM. The facility does close on occasions during regular business hours as the schedule here shows. The official site says it makes sense to call ahead just in case to see what the schedule for the upcoming days. The phone number is 305-945-1461. Admission is $5.00 regular, $2.50 Seniors over 62, $2.50 Students with valid ID, Children under 12 $2.00. The history of the Ancient Spanish Monestary starts actually in Spain, between the years
1133 to 1141 AD. At that time the St. Bernard de Clairvaux was built in the city of Sacramenia in the Province of Segovia Spain. The original purpose of the construction of the Monestary was to honor the Blessed Mother Mary, however, a local monk was canonized for sainthood, St.
Bernard of Clairvaux, as such the Monestary was named in honor of him. During civil war in Spain the monestary was cloistered and the entire facility was taken down brick by brick. Around 1925 a gentleman by the name of William Randolph Hearst purchased these cloisters and all buildings associated with the monestary. Packed away in over 11,000 protective crates the entire structure was shipped to the US.  About that time, hoof and mouth disease had broken out in Segovia, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, fearing possible contagion, quarantined the shipment upon its arrival, broke open the crates and burned the hay, a possible carrier of the disease. Unfortunately, the workmen failed to replace the stones in the same
numbered boxes before moving them to a warehouse. Soon after the shipment arrived, Hearst's financial problems forced most of his collection to be sold at auction. The stones remained in a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, for 26 years. One year after Hearts' death in 1952, they were purchased by Messrs. W. Edgemon and R. Moss for use as a tourist attraction. It took 19 months and almost $1.5 million dollars to put the Monastery back together. Some of the unmatched stones still remain in the back lot; others were used in the construction of the
present Church's Parish Hall.

There is a lot more you can learn by visiting the Ancient Spanish Monestary Miami if you do plan on heading to theMiami Beach area. Places like these are just awesome to take in while
you look for that occaisional diversion from the sunny beaches.