Once my host mom tossed me an orange as I wrapped up lunch one day.
The happy little orange* was still warm, and I made a passing comment about that.
My mom turned from the dishes to just as casually say, “Yeah, its probably still warm from the sun. It was picked this morning in Valencia.”

It was nearing 4 in the afternoon, and the orange I was pealing had gone from tree to my hands in the time it took me to go to and from classes.

Where I live in the US I am a 15 hour drive from the closest citrus-growing area (Canyon, TX to the Rio Grande valley). This was monumental for me.

This high-level of freshness is evident in food all through the city. At the university there was an orange juice maker, so if you ordered an orange juice in the cafeteria they made it right in front of you, instead of popping a straw in something from concentrate like back home.

Even the lettuce and tomato on the 4AM drunk McDonald’s burger run was bright and crisp.

There are bakeries EVERYWHERE and I’m a bit of a bread fiend, so the access to fresh, warm, melt-on-you-tongue pastry was top notch. The best croissant I ever had was tiny and in a box of six that my host mom bought me and my roommate. We devoured them one night after dinner. I still dream of them.

Also, there are these pizza shops that are only open late, set up to serve the club crowd, I imagine. They sell by the slice, and the slices are Cheap. The pizza is Fresh and the ingredients are amazing. Full-flavoured basil, bright fresh tomato tastes in the sauce– pies you’d pay premium for at the really swank pizzerias back home, and it’s a euro a slice in the streets of Madrid.

That’s something I miss the most, the very easy and cheap access to great quality and Great Tasting food.

*is it possible for oranges to be cuter in another country? Because I think oranges in Spain were v cute.