The Journey through England, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal (18) 'The City in the Sky' and 'The White Town'

The Journey through England, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal (18) 'The City in the Sky' and 'The White Town' 2024.6.22 (Saturday) Seville-Granada Weather: Cloudy, 13-33 degrees. We couldn't make it to the Spanish Square yesterday, but with the tour leader's coordination, we successfully checked in at the square this morning (Picture 1). Enjoying the splendid Spanish sunshine, the temperature difference between morning and evening is huge, like two different seasons. Today we left Seville and headed to Granada via Ronda, mostly driving on mountain roads. Around noon, we arrived in Ronda for a visit. Ronda, known as 'The City in the Sky' (Picture 2), is located in the hinterland of the Malaga province at an altitude of over 700 meters. This small town, born in the Roman Empire era and developed during the Arab invasion era, has its old town perched on a cliff with a hundred meters of height difference, offering a breathtaking and magnificent view (Picture 3). The famous Puente Nuevo (also known as the New Bridge, Picture 4), rebuilt in the mid-18th century, spans a 98-meter-high gorge on both sides, with the Guadalevín River flowing towards Seville at the bottom of the valley. It is a vital thoroughfare between the old and new towns and one of Ronda's most iconic landmarks. The Ronda bullring (Picture 5), with a diameter of 66 meters, is one of the oldest bullrings in Spain, built in 1785. Ronda is known as the birthplace of modern stand-up bullfighting, and it has seen two glorious bullfighting families, Romero and Ordóñez. The town is peaceful and simple, as if it naturally grew out of the surrounding cliffs. Today is the weekend, and there are even more visitors here. After lunch, we drove nearly a hundred kilometers and continued along the mountain roads, reaching an altitude of over a thousand meters, to the town of Mijas built on the hillside (Picture 6). Mijas, an Arab-style tourist town, is known as 'The White Town', 'The Romantic Town', and one of 'Spain's Top Ten Beautiful Towns'. Walking on the clean streets, the buildings around are all white (Picture 7), with bright flowers and individual decorations, exuding a strong romantic atmosphere (Picture 8). The town faces the Mediterranean Sea and looks across to Melilla in North Africa (Picture 9). With a suitable climate, bright sunshine, and well-equipped commercial facilities, it has become a tourist and leisure vacation destination. In the evening, we arrived in Granada to stay, and tomorrow we will visit a famous attraction here before heading to Toledo.