Diana Petterson European Continent, Spain

My Solo Month in Spain: Alcalá de Henares

The Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares has had several names throughout its history. Initially it was the "Plaza del Mercado", then the "Plaza de la Constitución" and, since 1879, it is the "Plaza de Cervantes", in memory of the city’s favorite son, Miguel de Cervantes. (Sept. 18, 2021)

If you like the story of Don Quijote de La Mancha, where a nobleman goes on a romantic quest of adventures to revive chivalry and proclaim himself a knight while recruiting a simple farmer to be his squire, then Alcalá de Henares is the place for you because the story’s author, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, was born here.

Alcalá de Henares, a quick local train ride from Madrid, is small and cozy with an emphasis on Cervantes, the author; a university tradition from 1499 and its founder Cardinal Cisneros; and a long pedestrian main street, the Calle Mayor from the 12th century.

According to UNESCO: Alcalá de Henares, founded by Cardinal Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros as the world’s first planned university city was the original model for the Civitas Dei (City of God), the ideal urban community which Spanish missionaries brought to the Americas. It also served as a model for universities in Europe and elsewhere.

Here’s more about Alcalá de Henares my last UNESCO World Heritage city before heading home to Dallas, Texas. ¡Adiós España! Me encanta viajar por este majestuoso país. (Good-bye Spain! I love traveling through this majestic country.)

Me hanging out with Sancho Panza (left) and Don Quixote (right), characters from the Miguel de Cervantes book, “Don Quixote de La Mancha.” They are sitting, while I’m standing, in front of the childhood home of Cervantes along the Plaza Mayor in the historic center of Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The Cervantes Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares where author Miguel de Cervantes was born here in 1547 and where he lived as a child. The house belonged to the Cervantes family during the 16th century and next door was the Antezana Hospital where Rodrigo de Cervantes, father of the writer, is believed to have worked. The museum, founded to honor the author of Don Quixote, was restored and partially rebuilt in 1956 and recreates a house of that time with information about the author. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The central courtyard inside the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Botica or Surgery room recreated inside the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares where Miguel’s father, Rodrigo Cervantes, practiced his activity as a ‘bloodletting surgeon.’ (Sept. 18, 2021)
The cocina or kitchen inside the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares where the author Miguel de Cervantes was born and lived as a child. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Ladies chamber inside the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Ladies chamber inside the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares. (Sept. 18, 2021)
There’s even a puppet show room in the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares. (Sept. 18, 2021)
And, in the temporary exhibitions room of the Cervantes’ Birthplace Museum in Alcala de Henares features photographs from various plays produced about Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote de La Mancha book. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares has had several names throughout its history. Initially it was the “Plaza del Mercado”, then the “Plaza de la Constitución” and, since 1879, it is the “Plaza de Cervantes”, in memory of the city’s favorite son, Miguel de Cervantes. (Sept. 18, 2021)
Views of the Plaza de Cervantes. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Plaza de Cervantes, an important commercial and social historical and contemporary center of Alcalá de Henares, has undergone several name and physical changes. In the 19th century, it received its current name “Plaza de Cervantes” and several works were carried out for its beautification; such as the erection in 1879 of the statue of Cervantes that presides over the and the construction of a Music Kiosk in 1898. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The beautiful garden of the Plaza de Cervantes. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The Monument to Miguel de Cervantes at the Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
More views of the Plaza de Cervantes. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Monument to Miguel de Cervantes at the Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares with views of the Music Kiosk, the tower of the defunct church of Santa María la Mayor. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The tower of the defunct church of Santa María la Mayor at one end of the Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
Just across from the tower is this entrance to the visitor’s center, dedicated to author Miguel de Cervantes, which features a large baptismal basin where Cervantes was said to be baptized on Oct. 9, 1547. The visitor’s center is the site of the former parish church of Santa Maria la Mayor, now demolished. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The visitor’s center, dedicated to author Miguel de Cervantes, features the large baptismal basin where Cervantes was said to be baptized on Oct. 9, 1547. The visitor’s center is the site of the former parish church of Santa Maria la Mayor, now demolished. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The visitor’s center, dedicated to author Miguel de Cervantes, features A close-up of the large baptismal basin where Miguel de Cervantes was said to be baptized on Oct. 9, 1547. (Sept. 19, 2021)
Buildings around the rectangular Plaza de Cervantes. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Corral de Comedias is considered to be the oldest theatre of Europe, still functioning, since it was thought up in 1601 by the carpenter Francisco Sánchez, located around the rectangular square of the Plaza de Cervantes. (Sept. 20, 2021)
Me taking a morning walk along the Plaza Mayor in Alcalá de Henares. Created in the 12th century as the backbone of the Jewish quarter, the Calle Mayor is still the city’s main thoroughfare. Considered the longest supported street in Spain, its commercial nature led to the creation of its characteristic arcades. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The Plaza Mayor in Alcalá de Henares, a commercial and pedestrian street is still one of the main axes of the city. Quiet in the morning, it is a hub of activity later during the day and into the evening. (Sept. 19, 2021)
Still quiet in the morning, the Plaza Mayor in Alcalá de Henares, runs from east to west, from one of the corners of the Plaza de Cervantes to Plaza de los Santos Niños, site of the Cathedral-Magistral de los Santos Justo y Pastor or Magistral Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares. In 1986 the street became pedestrianized and, among other transformations, the asphalt was changed to cobblestone. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The busier Plaza Mayor in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Plaza Mayor in Alcalá de Henares runs from east to west and its most characteristic esthetic about the street are the arcades on both sides. (Sept. 18, 2021)
The Monument to the Fifth Centennial of the Discovery of America, inaugurated April 31, 1986 in the Plaza de los Santos Niños represents the union between the Old and the New World. The Cathedral-Magistral of Alcalá de Henares covers the entire southern side of the Plaza. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The exterior entrance to the Cathedral-Magistral de los Santos Justo y Pastor in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
A side-view of the statue of Cardinal Cisneros and the children saints of Justus and Pastor in front of the exterior entrance to the Cathedral-Magistral de los Santos Justo y Pastor in Alcalá de Henares. Saints Justus and Pastor are venerated Christian martyrs and patron saints of Alcalá who were two schoolboy brothers killed around 304 BC for their faith during the Diocletian persecutions. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The interior of the simple and austere of the Cathedral-Magistral de los Santos Justo y Pastor in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso de Alcalá de Henares, initially called the College of San Ildefonso but is now referred to as the University of Alcalá de Henares, was founded in 1499 by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros. The university building is an important work of Spanish Renaissance and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the historic center of Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The plateresque facade of the University of Alcalá de Henares, founded in 1499 by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, is a fine example of the rich ornamentation of the purest Spanish Renaissance style. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The doorway of the ornate plateresque facade of the University of Alcalá de Henares is considered the purest Spanish Renaissance style. (Sept. 19, 2021)
A close-up of one of the exterior windows plateresque facade of the University of Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
A close-up of one of the exterior windows plateresque facade of the University of Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
In order to see any of the University of Alcalá de Henares, you have to pay for a tour and tours are only in Spanish. This is my tour group at one of the inner courtyard’s of the university. (Sept. 19, 2021)
Another view of one of the inner courtyard’s of the University of Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The Paraninfo, a rectangular hall inside the University of Alcalá de Henares is a feast for the eyes from the colorful floor tiles to the coffered ceiling of six-pointed stars surrounded by hexagonal caissons with rosettes inside. The gallery of arches are decorated with fine grotto plasterwork. This Mudéjar Plateresque style, typical of Islamic architecture, continued to persist in Spain beyond 1492 when the Christians conquered he Moors. In other times, the most solemn acts and the most important exams of the University were held in this room. Currently, it has regained its importance and it is where the coveted Cervantes Prize for Literature takes place. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The wooden chair inside the Paraninfo of the University of Alcalá de Henares is considered one of the best examples of the so-called “Cisneros style,” characterized by synthesizing the Renaissance style with the Mudejar Plateresque. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The beautiful tiled floor inside the Paraninfo of the University of Alcalá de Henares is a product of a restoration. (Sept. 19, 2021)
A close-up of the striking coiffured ceiling of the Paraninfo, a rectangular hall inside the University of Alcalá de Henares of six-pointed stars surrounded by hexagonal caissons with rosettes inside and painted in gold, red and blue. Sept. 19, 2021)
A close-up of the striking coiffured ceiling of the Paraninfo, a rectangular hall inside the University of Alcalá de Henares of six-pointed stars surrounded by hexagonal caissons with rosettes inside and painted in gold, red and blue. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The San Ildefonso Chapel inside the University of Alcalá de Henares holds the monumental sepulcher of its founder, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros and presents a gorgeous interior from the wooden coffered ceiling of the roof to the plasterwork or reliefs on its white walls attributed to so-called Cisnerian style of combining Mudéjar, Renaissance and late Gothic styles. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The Cenotaph of Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros , located in the San Ildefonso Chapel of the University of Alcalá , is a funerary monument designed by the sculptor Domenico Fancelli and completed by his successors in 1521. However, the skeletal remains of Cardinal Cisneros are not in this cenotaph, but are said to be deposited in two different burial sites inside the Magistral Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 19, 2021)
A close-up of the plasterwork or reliefs on white walls of the San Ildefonso Chapel at the University of Alcalá is attributed to so-called Cisnerian style of combining Mudéjar, Renaissance and late Gothic styles. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The sculpture of Cardinal Cisneros located in front of the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso de Alcalá de Henares. Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1436-1517), spelled Ximenes in his own lifetime, and commonly referred to today as simply Cisneros, was a Spanish cardinal, religious figure and statesman. Starting from humble beginnings he rose to the heights of power, as a Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, promoter of the Crusades in North Africa, and founder of the Colegio de San Ildefonso in 1499. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The Archbishop’s Palace complex in Alcalá de Henares, which dates from 1209, was once the residence of generations of royalty. This is where the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Ferdinand first interviewed Christopher Columbus to discuss the excursion to the West as well as the birthplace of their daughter, Catherine of Aragon, who would be the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and therefore queen consort of England. And, currently, this is the residence of the bishop. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The terracotta arms of the Cardinal Infante Luis Antonio de Borbón (son of Philip V), located on the main facade of the Archbishop’s Palace of Alcalá de Henares. It’s the one distinguishable feature of the facade. (Sept. 20, 2021)
Statue of Isabel la Catolica (1451-1504) in front of the Archbishop’s Palace in Alcalá de Henares. She was Queen of Castile and after marrying King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the two became known as the Catholic Monarchs and financing Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage. On Jan. 20, 1486, the first interview between Queen Isabela I of Castile and Christopher Columbus, to finance his trip to the Indies, took place here at the Archbishop’s Palace in Alcalá. (Sept. 20, 2021)
A portion of the medieval defensive Walls of Alcalá. Construction began on the walls in the 13th century and still maintains its original design used to protect the Archbishop’s Palace complex. (Sept. 20, 2021)
More of the remaining medieval city Walls of Alcalá. Known as the Murallas de Henares, a significant portion of these walls are seen near the Archbishop’s Palace. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The Puerta de Madrid or Madrid Door of Alcalá de Henares was officially inaugurated on Dec. 4, 1788, to replace one of the medieval doors of the old walled enclosure. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares was built by Manuel José Laredo y Ordoño as a private home between 1881 and 1884. Laredo, a restorer and architect was also Mayor of Alcalá de Henares between 1891 and 1893. The Palace is a mixture of architectural, sculptural and decorative archetypes inspired by different styles but dominated by the neo-Mudejar style. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The exterior of the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)

 

The exterior of the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The beautiful exterior entrance gate of the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The main entrance of the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
The exterior entrance to the Laredo Palace features this carving of Cardinal Cisneros, the religious leader, statesman and founder of the university in Alcalá is featured her externally and inside the palace is currently a small museum dedicated to Cisneros with a specialized library and other documents. (Sept. 20, 2021)
A hallway room into the Laredo Palace. (Sept. 20, 2021)
Inside the Laredo Palace’s Kings Hall decorated with paintings of different monarchs, and on the ceiling it presents a representation of the firmament as it was conceived in the Middle Ages; at present it serves as an assembly hall and conference room. [ 12 ]the main decorative element is the portraits of the kings, queens and regents of the Castilian Crown during medieval times. (Sept. 20, 2021)
A painting of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon inside the Hall of the Kings at the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
A close-up of the painting of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon inside the Hall of the Kings at the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. (Sept. 20, 2021)
Another neo-Mudejar style room inside the Laredo Palace in Alcalá de Henares. Construction of the palace began in 1881 and was completed in 1884 with Modernist, Gothic, Renaissance and Moorish decorative motifs in general. (Sept. 20, 2021)
I originally booked an apartment with views into the Plaza de Cervantes but, in all honesty, I just didn’t feel comfortable there. Plus, I wanted more. And, this Parador de Alcala was exactly what I wanted. It is within walking distance of the Plaza and all the sites I wanted to see, plus it was just a plaza staying there, costly, but still a pleasure. (Sept. 19, 2021)
My room at the Parador of Alcalá. (Sept. 18, 2021)
My room at the Parador of Alcalá. (Sept. 18, 2021)
My room at the Parador of Alcalá. (Sept. 18, 2021)
My room at the Parador of Alcalá. (Sept. 18, 2021)

In order to get back home to the U.S., I have to prove that I am Negative for COVID-19 even though I have received two shots of the Moderna vaccine.

So, how do you prove you’re safe to travel when you are in another country? Well, in my case, I brought my COVID-19 test kit with me so when I am ready to get on the plane home, up to three days prior, I could just do it myself, with the watchful eye of an online trained test proctor.

I did a lot of research before leaving home in the U.S. and found that American Airlines, which my return flight to Dallas is booked on.

I purchased the Abbott BinaxNOW at home COVID-19 Antigen test, which came in a package of six separately sealed test boxes for $150 USD, before leaving home. Abbott suggests bringing two test boxes for each person traveling. Since it was just me, I brought two with me to Spain but while I was at home I took an unofficial test with one of the other boxes and followed it up with another test from CVS Pharmacy just to make sure I wasn’t carrying COVID unknowingly to another country. Both tests were negative. Spain, at least at the time I left, was not requiring a negative COVID test to enter the country.

The process to test myself, officially in Spain, so I could get home to the U.S., was rather straight forward and simple. The test box could not be opened until I went onto the eMed website (that’s the company that conducts the online test) and connected with the trained test proctor who walked me through the steps. And, the first thing the proctor asked was to see the box and make sure the seal was still attached. The two boxes were a little bent up but still sealed. I also had to produce a photo identification and obviously my passport sufficed.

From that point on, I followed the proctor’s directions, with online illustrations, as I used the enclosed nasal swab on both nostrils then inserted the swab into the test card, already prepared with drops of the Reagent into one of the holes of the test card. Once that was done, I had to seal the test card closed, touching only the corners and wait 15 minutes for my results.

Once my 15 minutes were up, I hit the clock screen on my iPad and another trained test proctor came online confirming that the results of my antigen test was NEGATIVE.

A few seconds after that, I received email notification with how to obtain my QR code to verify my negative COVID-19 test results.

The difficult part was getting the information onto VeriFLY, an app American Airlines uses as a free travel verification service. At first I uploaded a photo of the QR code, but VeriFLY did not accept it. Instead VeriFLY accepted the second portion with the detailed confirmation of my test results. Both responses from VeriFLY took only a matter of seconds to receive.

I’m sure other countries and airlines have their specific requirements for entry and tests. But traveling is possible. I’ve done it and my plans are to continue to travel. I hope this helps anyone who is considering traveling internationally right now.

Now my status with American Airlines is that I am ready to travel and I was able to check-in online and get my boarding pass. Good to leave Spain on Sept. 21 at 11:05 a.m. and arrive in Dallas in the afternoon at 2:15 p.m. (14:15) on a 10 hour and 10 minutes flight.

I carried two of these unopened boxes with me through Spain. And, as you can see, it was a bit bent but still unopened. And, inside the home test kit box is a BinaxNOW COVID-19 Test Card; a Nasal Swab and a small Reagent bottle. (Sept. 19, 2021)
The 15-minute countdown to my Abbott BinaxNOW online COVID-19 test, which I conducted from my hotel room at the Parador in Alcalá de Henares Sunday afternoon, within 3 days of leaving to come back to the U.S. (Sept. 19, 2021)
And, after the 15 minute wait, my completed test card, as you can see, shows that I am Negative. Within seconds I had a confirmation email linking me to the results and to my QR code to use for my American Airlines flight back home. (Sept. 19, 2021)