© Marco Covi

Boarding the train in Barcelona, we begin to anticipate the feeling of the sun. In a scant 15-minutes we will be far from the urban center, to an extension of the city we call home.

© Wei Lin Tse

We watch from our windows as buildings blur into a green smudge of passing trees, then into the textured, thatched wooden roofs of Gavà. Then finally, the bright white of sand and glinting sea.

© Wei Lin Tse

© Wei Lin Tse

We are lucky to have access to this rarefied combination of metropolis and nature, a retreat so close to our urban homes. Here we indulge in the luxuries that seaside space provides: openair flea markets, gardens green and rich with earthy bounty, the feeling of infinity where ocean meets sky.

© Marco Covi

At dusk we come together for a drink and a meal at a beachside restaurant, relishing in the taste of crisp, vine-ripe vegetables and the smoky char of barbecued meat and fish, the patter of our conversation eased by the lull of the nearby waves.

© Wei Lin Tse

As it grows darker, we still feel the sun on our skin as we walk towards the train back home.

A Beachside Retreat
Gava Beach, Spain