Birthplace of Cervantes

About an hour train ride west of Madrid is the town of Alcalá de Henares, where Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spain's greatest literary figure and author of Don Quixote) was born in 1547.  We took a quick trip there today after working in the temple, and Scott took a few pictures.

This is the Plaza de Cervantes in the middle of town:

This is a closeup of the monument to Cervantes:

The town is also famous for the University of Alcalá. Founded in 1499 by Cardinal Cesneros, it became one of the foremost places of learning in the 16th century. This is the facade of the main entrance of one of its colleges, Colegio de San Ildefonso:

Here, in front of the Cervantes museum, Scott and Beverly are flanked by Don Quixote de la Mancha and his sidekick Sancho Panza:

And here are our friends and fellow temple missionaries Dave and Teresa, who invited us on this mini-tour:

Among the most interesting things that we saw in the town were the numerous storks that have built nests on the top of many buildings and monuments:

We had a great time in Alcalá de Henares.