Nature vs. Nurture: Is beach snobbery genetic?

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Prosecco & Pampers

After three weeks in Gran Canaria, the Svendsen family finally hit the beach.

It was NOT a huge success.

Per Christian isn’t a stranger to water. He’s been swimming in Greece, he’s been sailing in Norway, and he’s been in the pool for several baby-swimming classes.

But the poor chap didn’t care much for the crowed beach of Amadores this weekend. Being packed like sardines in the sand is apparently not his idea of a good time. I wasn’t heartless (or resourceful) enough to snap photos of his misery, but rest assured he looked something like this for the entire 20 minutes we were there:

To be quite honest, his parents agree. Call us beach snobs if you will, but crowds, heat and sand do not mix well in our opinion. Apparently Per Christian inherited those genes, which is just fine with us.

So we gave up the beach and went in search of something else. We passed by all the obnoxious boardwalk restaurants where waiters hustle the tourists with cheap beer and cheaper food. That’s also not our thing.

We finally stumbled upon the Amadores Beach Club. And then Momma, Pappa and little Per Christian lived happily ever after….

Later that afternoon, we created our own little exclusive beach club at Casa Svendsen. Baby nudity is allowed and in fact encouraged here, but I’ve been informed that those photos are not for public consumption:

We also made our first venture into Las Palmas this weekend. We only checked out a tiny portion of it for now, reminding ourselves that we actually live here and don’t have to absorb everything in one trip. So more on that another time.

Per Christian also started his Spanish lessons, which so far consist of tearing pages out of mommy’s Spanish dictionary. We’ll keep you updated on his progress.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Back to business

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Prosecco & Pampers

For all you die-hard PC fans and doting grandparents everywhere, I know exactly what you’re thinking…. “Thanks, mommy dearest, for all your thoughts and ramblings, but what about the little chap? When do we get to see a bit of him again?!”

That’s okay, I’m not offended that you’d rather look at my son than read my writing. Really. I’m here to serve.

So without further ado and to appease the masses, here are some shots of Per Christian adapting to his difficult life in Gran Canaria….

First, a “before” shot of the week we left Oslo – no more coats and hats for this little boy!

He’s really chomping at the bit to get on his feet – I have about 100 shots all identical to this one:

Speaking of chomping, here he is with his favorite teething toy. Those fancy-schmancy teething rings I bought him?? Forget it – he’d rather have a cardboard box:

We’re pretty lucky to be within walking distance of Per’s new hotel, so every once in a while Per Christian gets lunch with pappa (note – the beer was actually on a Saturday…)

The beginning of each day starts in bed with mommy and pappa — undivided attention, cuddles and a bottle filled with warm milk… What better way to start the day?

Every afternoon is reading time to prepare for Per Christian’s entrance exams to Oxford. (Kidding, maybe a little….) By the way – these hard books are also excellent teething toys in lieu of the ones mommy bought.

All dressed and ready for a day on the town. This little fair-haired child has quickly become the toast of the town — the darker locals love his blond hair and the Scandinavian pensioners always stop to pet him. He’s never gotten so much attention before, which I think suits him just fine….

He’s getting pretty skilled with the high chair, even the cheap plastic ones they have at the cafes. He’ll usually last about seven minutes in it before his Scream of Boredom begins – just enough time to drain my cortado in peace.

And then, every afternoon and evening, peace descends upon the house as Per Christian drifts off to never-never land. This could be the single best advertisement for Pampers diapers I’ve ever seen.

That’s all folks!

Transitions

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Prosecco & Pampers

If you’re a regular follower of P&P or in any way connected to the Svendsen family, then you know we’ve just relocated from Oslo, Norway to Grand Canary, Spain. We’ve apparently moved at the perfect time – right before the fall chill and rain really settled in Oslo, and several months before the heavy-duty heat hits us here.

The moving company came last Thursday to pack and ship all 78 (yes, 78!!!) boxes of personal items. We also gave away about three carloads full of stuff, so I honestly have no idea what’s left in those 78 boxes. Clearly, it’s Per Christian’s fault we can no longer travel with two suitcases each.

The golden child was a huge hit on our SAS flight from Oslo-Las Palmas, and I don’t only say that because he’s my son and therefore perfect in every way. I mean that he was a serious entertainer, thriving on attention from strangers and really hamming it up for their enjoyment. There were numerous occasions when, right before complete overtired-meltdown-time arrived, a flight attendant would walk past us and goo-goo over our son, thereby renewing his will to live for another few moments.

I don’t know where he inherited these social skills. Really, it’s a mystery folks….

Now that we’ve landed, our first task is of course to find housing. That’s apparently a tricky situation in our southern part of the island, where retirees from all over Europe spend their winter months. We’ve been told that the best housing gems were snagged several months ago, leaving us with very few leftovers to pick through.

So, we have temporary housing at the moment, something we’re “test driving” for a week to see if we’d like to rent it long-term. It’s an okay option for us but of course not perfect. The positives include the huge terrace, the sea views, the great light and the simple interior. The downsides are the miniscule kitchen, the cheap IKEA outfitting and the large staircases separating us from the town’s center (definitely not a stroller-friendly option). We’d also prefer to have an additional bedroom for all the guests we expect to visit… So which is more important – the terrace and sea view, or the third bedroom and larger kitchen?

Decisions, decisions…

Our local town of Arguineguin is definitely different from I expected. It’s more residential than the tourist centers of Puerto Rico and Maspalomas, so there’s a greater range of local life within reach here. At the same time, it’s also where the majority of Norwegian residents spend their winter months. I kid you not – there are 11,000 Norwegians on the island and most of them live in our backyard. The local SPAR store sells our must-have Mills mayonnaise and Friele coffee (if you can suck up the 7 EUR price tag), and the coffee shop sells the daily edition of Norway’s VG newspaper.

So we have a mini-Norway here in Spain… the jury is still out on how we’re going to like that over the next few years.

We met our Norwegian neighbors on the very first evening – one invited us over for drinks and the other invited us to hire her 13-year-old daughters as babysitters. I’m still shocked at this behavior, and here’s why – I lived for three years in Norway and never once met any of my neighbors. Apparently, Norwegians in the tropics are a different breed than in the homeland, more inclined to chat over their fences or rent out their children to newly-arrived strangers.

Per Christian seems to be adapting well to the change – in fact, I don’t even think he notices the difference. I’m sure he loves the absence of the “lua” (winter hat) he was made to endure in Oslo, and he has a lot more space in the main room for his coming-and-going’s. His recent achievements include semi-skilled push-ups, downward dog yoga poses and full 360 degree belly rotations. He’s clearly getting frustrated by his little body’s limitations, so I think his movements are going to get wider and wilder by the day now.

So, in short, the Svendsen family is transitioning pretty well thus far. We won’t have internet in the house until next week, so updates to P&P may be irregular in the nearest future. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some photos of our trip south and our current house.

All you potential visitors out there, feel free to comment below — should we stay here or keep looking???

Some photos from the plane ride to Grand Canary: