Carmelite Monastery

5.0* (out of 5)
Food: n/a Atmosphere: 5* Value: n/a Service: 5*

04/16/2023
This was the closest place to our friend's house where we were staying and was within walking distance, so was our destination for Mass Sunday morning. The grounds around the Church were meticulously kept and the walk from the gate to the Church was a beautiful experience in nature. The Church (see pictures) was beautiful and the congregation was friendly and welcoming.

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Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com

Who would have thought of a Monastery being right in the middle of a metro area such as this. This city has grown around places like this and they are a part of it's rich history. If you are in town or just drove by like my self for many years and haven't checked this place out you should make the time and do so. You won't regret it.

I have a daily challenge of a little discovery a day...this wonderful discovery made my Friday! I like to use my lunch breaks to do a mix of workouts/picnics/walks/finding new places around Santa Clara. I did not see any discalced cloistered carmelite nun, but surely had my nice quiet time at the very local 'getsemani olive grove'.

It is just fantastic! It is so great to walk there alone, in silence, no one around. I tried to enter inside the church but it was closed (even though as per their schedule it should have been opened). Still, I had a great time breathing there after all these heavy rains of past days, watching the cotton clouds, the pinkish facade and walls, walking around the olive trees.

Independently of your religion or spiritual inclinations, this is a must place to visit in Santa Clara. I will of course go back to inspect the church and feel the peace. Beautiful location and very well preserved and maintained.

Close to San Jose airport and to kill time we decided to stop at this landmark. There's a small driveway to drive into the monsters, but I would advise to park on the street. When you walk through the gates, there's a small pathway leading up to the church. The grounds are peaceful and beautiful. We spent about a good 30 mins walking around. There was a docent touring with a guest and he was so nice to invite us along.

We were able to actually go inside the church, and the church is beautiful! Very pristine, clean and quiet. I was able to take a few photos inside. Just immaculate!

A hidden gem that's worth a stop!

If there's one thing I really appreciate about my girlfriend (besides her insatiable love for boba and pooches), it's the fact that she's gotten me to appreciate the little things in life.

Before meeting her, I had always been about that fast life. Every minute of every hour had to be preoccupied by something productive; there was no such thing as mindfulness or "taking it slow" in my vocabulary. But for the last few years, I've learned to appreciate the very simple things in life.

Case in point: Last Sunday, I took my girlfriend to Santa Clara's Carmelite Monastery since it was only a mile away from her house. Back in the day, I would never dream of coming here. Who cares about walking around some church? Where's the buzz of life?

On the contrary, that's exactly why we went. This public space was pretty relaxing and awesome! Every inch of the monastery offered something cool to check out. I loved that there was a giant palm tree in the center, the outside of the church itself looked ancient, and it was cool that all the walls were painted pink! Best of all, everything was so quiet. Although we weren't allowed to take pictures, we used this as an opportunity to soak in the present moment. I felt at ease and didn't want to leave.

For those of you looking for a chill activity in the South Bay Area and don't want to pay, the Carmelite Monastery is definitely worth checking out. I'd for sure give it a "Nice-su, you can take your parents here and they'll be happy" rating.

Have fun and prosper,

We came here on a rush during Holy Thursday. You see, my family has planned to visit this place days days before however things didn't go well in our favor in the early parts of the day. The monastery's website said that they close by 5 pm and we only had about 15 minutes left to go in, say a little prayer and leave. Little did we know that there would be a mass (washing of the feet) that was scheduled on that day. Feeling that this is a blessing in disguise we stayed to attend it.

The chapel is small but intricately decorated. The structure is Spanish influenced and the insides was covered with religious moldings. What usually shows a big cross in the altar, the monastery actually has the statue of the holy family.

During the mass, 3 priests presided and the nuns sang. The solemnity of the mass was deeply felt and it was a great visit over all.

My family and I recently took a trip to Santa Clara and on our early afternoon stroll stumbled upon the Carmelite Monastery. The Monastery is quietly tucked away off of Lincoln Street in Silicon Valley. We decided to take a stroll on the grounds admiring their beautiful well maintained property appreciating all of our surroundings even though we were in the middle of Winter. Many of the plants were in their dormant stages, so we could only imagine how beautiful the grounds would be during the Spring with it's rose garden in full bloom. A cute place to do some meditation and contemplation while taking in some nature.

#27 / 100
Yelp 100 Review Challenge 2014

Unfortunately this was our favorite place to take a nice reflective walk. There was trash all over the place and even beer cans and cigarette buts along the pathways. There are always people taking photographs there, which kind of takes away from it being a religious refuge. I was really disappointed in this visit.

I hadn't been to the monastery for months, until this morning. Found this morning that they posted signs reminding visitors that the monastery is a private property, and saying "No photography allowed." Also not allowed are painting get togethers, picnics, drones. Good for them! I guess it all got out of hand, and looking up the monastery location in Instagram, yes, you can see all kinds of things the monastery was being used for, everything but worship and contemplation.

I look forward to the monastery once again being a peaceful oasis, a place of contemplation, and not what it ended up being for so many...a hipster attraction. Yay if that's over now.

Really beautiful monastery, very peaceful and quiet. A perfect spot for a morning walk. However, my quiet morning was ruined by a group of loud college kids who kept yelling about how this is "Team Valor territory" while tapping furiously on their iPhones. The kind of tapping you do when the Internet is lagging and your pizza order just isn't going through.

Also there was a funeral going on and the funeral-goers looked very puzzled. Kids these days!