Glenn: Gloria Estefan, the Bee Gees, Rosie O'Donnel, Julio Iglesias, Madonna...

Glenn ...all have beautiful ocean side estates. There are several tour boats that can take you past these beautiful homes.

Jorge: Check them out at the Bayside Marketplace.

Raúl: However, there aren't any tours that let you go inside them. So you can only imagine what's happening inside.

Jorge: Hey, you imagine the kind of place you'd like to live in, and I'll imagine mine.

Raúl: There is a place where you can tour the inside of a great historical mansion. The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a real gem located just minutes from downtown and the beaches. You'll see many Cubans at Vizcaya, especially on Sundays when it's a tradition to bring out-of-town guests here.

Jorge: I imagine gold-plated faucets, bath tubs filled with whipped cream, huge rotating beds, mirrored ceilings...

Glenn: Are you imagining someone's home or a New Orleans house of ill repute?

Jorge: Vizcaya was built between 1912 and 1916 as the winter residence of James Deering, a very rich Chicago industrialist. He was one of the founders of the International Harvester Company, which must have made a lot of tractors to pay for this place.

Glenn: If you've ever spent a winter in Chicago, you'll understand why he spent all this dough for a winter escape!

Raúl: This guy just loved Italian architecture. He put a lot of Miami guys to work on this place, and when they got done, instead of a shiny new home, poor Mr. Deering was stuck with a house that looked old.

Glenn: They did that on purpose Raúl. Deering wanted his house to look like it was hundreds of years old when it was finished. As if he had picked one up on a trip to Venice and shipped it home.

Raúl: That could make the Guinness Book of World's Records as the world's largest souvenir.

Glenn: The strange thing is, I've visited the place several times and there isn't a single tractor in the entire exhibit!

Raúl: Check out their list of famous guests. Not only Gloria and Julio, but a few other people you may have heard of such as Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and Queen Elizabeth II.

Glenn: They had a big reception there recently for the King of Spain. Raúl was hoping he'd gas up his limousine at the Red Bird Citgo while he was in the neighborhood, but he never showed up.

Raúl: I sure hope he didn't fill up at the Shell station.

Jorge: Each year they have an Italian Renaissance Festival in March with the usual Renaissance characters: musicians, jugglers, street performers, battling knights, a giant chess board with human pieces, great food, and yes, even a few mimes.

Glenn: To avoid the mimes, just do what we do. Hide behind a nearby shrub and NEVER make eye contact.

Jorge: After several minutes they will get discouraged and wander off to entertain some other unsuspecting victim.

Raúl: Kids also love visiting Vizcaya. It's fun to explore the various rooms and the gardens are great, with a maze and everything.

Jorge: Just keep an eye on the kids so that they don't pick up that 15th century platter and use it for a Frisbee.

Glenn: Yes, the people who run the place really do frown on that!

However, you can tour the house until 5:00 PM and then wander around the gardens until 5:30 PM

Look for guided tours at various times, especially when they are busy, when they run them hourly.