Melon.

Can I just rejoice in something about Romanian summers?

Watermelon.  Watermelon everywhere.

I have no idea where Romania is on the world's watermelon-exporting statistics, but the sheer volume of this fruit amazes me.  On my 5-minute walk to work this morning, I passed three different vans parked on the side of the road, back seats taken out so the whole cabin could be filled with watermelon, stacked three feet high and spilling onto the sidewalk.  As you ride along the road, people are camped out under tents on the gravel shoulder, selling their mountain of green, luscious melon for incredibly cheap.  Like, incredibly cheap: usually .8-1 lei per kilo, which is about 25 cents.

And it's delicious, too: juicy and satisfyingly crunchy, lovely pinkish-red, huge slices studded with black seeds, dripping down our chins and forearms as we eat and eat and eat.  There's fabulous cantaloupe and honeydew here too, orange and green and sweet and soft, but it's the watermelon that takes the cake.

Mm.  Yum.  And may your days be full of summery delights too.