Little Expats:🇸🇪 MEET ELLA & ASTRID 🇸🇪
🇸🇪 MEET ELLA & ASTRID 🇸🇪
The Marbella Twins Who Finish Each Other’s Sentences
Born in Stockholm. Growing up in Marbella. Same birthday. Same school. Same dogs. Completely different opinions.
They are twins.
They are Swedish.
They live in Marbella.
They have two dogs called Pippi & Pelle.
They can turn absolutely anything into a competition.
And if one of them starts a sentence, there is a very good chance the other one will finish it.
“Yesterday we went to the—”
“—beach.”
“And Pelle stole—”
“—Papa’s sandwich.”
“Which was actually—”
“—his own fault.”
“How was that Papa’s fault?”
“He put it down.”
“Exactly.”
Welcome to Ella & Astrid World.
Population: two girls.
Two dogs.
Approximately 4,000 beads.
And absolutely no silence.
🇸🇪 FROM STOCKHOLM TO MARBELLA
Ella and Astrid were born in Stockholm, but these days their childhood smells less like snowy Swedish winters and more like sunscreen, sea salt and somebody grilling something delicious nearby.
They live in Marbella and attend an international school, where their lives happen in several languages at once.
Swedish at home. English at school. Spanish everywhere else.
Sometimes all three before breakfast.
“Mamma, ¿dónde está my other shoe?”
“Vilken sko?”
“The white one!”
“Ella is wearing it.”
“I AM NOT!”
“You are.”
Astrid looks down.
“Oh.”
Nobody in the family considers this unusual anymore.
🇸🇪 SAME FACE? NOT QUITE. SAME OPINION? NEVER.
People sometimes assume that twins must like exactly the same things.
Ella and Astrid find this hilarious.
They both love the sea. They both love their dogs. They both love painting, making jewellery, markets, swimming, pancakes and ice cream.
But agreeing on which beach, which bracelet, which pancake topping or which ice cream?
Absolutely not.
Ella might carefully choose tiny pearls in pale pink, turquoise and gold.
Astrid takes orange, blue, green and something that glows in the dark.
“You cannot put those together.”
“Why?”
“Because they don’t match.”
“They match me.”
Fair point.
Their bedroom contains enough beads to supply a small jewellery company.
Nobody is allowed to walk barefoot without accepting the consequences.
🇸🇪 MARBELLA IS THEIR PLAYGROUND
For Ella and Astrid, Marbella isn’t really about glamorous restaurants or expensive cars.
Marbella means being outside.
Padel. Swimming. SUP. Kayaking. Sailing. Snorkelling. Beach volleyball. Cycling.
Anything involving water. Anything involving a ball. Anything involving friends.
And preferably anything that makes their mother shout:
“GIRLS! BE CAREFUL!”
“We are!”
They aren’t.
They are already halfway across the swimming pool on an inflatable flamingo.
Pippi is barking.
Pelle is attempting to board.
Normal Saturday.
🇸🇪 PIPPI & PELLE
Then there are the other two members of the twin team.
Pippi & Pelle.
Two Swedish Vallhunds with short legs, enormous personalities and the firmly held belief that everything happening in Marbella concerns them personally.
Beach walk? Coming.
Garden party? Coming.
School run? Obviously coming.
Picnic? They were born ready.
Pippi is convinced that every beach bag contains snacks.
Pelle believes every football belongs to him.
Neither belief has ever been successfully challenged.
The girls adore them.
They walk them along the coast, take them on family adventures and talk to them as though the dogs are members of an important committee.
“Pippi, what do you think?”
Pippi stares at the sandwich.
“She agrees with me.”
“She wants your sandwich.”
“Same thing.”
🇸🇪 SATURDAY MEANS MARKET DAY
One of the twins’ favourite things is exploring Marbella’s weekend markets.
Give Ella and Astrid €10 each and you’ve basically created a reality television show.
There are bracelets. Baskets. Shells. Little dresses. Ribbons. Beads. Paintings. Hair clips. Tiny treasures. Things nobody needs. Things the twins desperately need.
“Mamma, look!”
“No.”
“But you haven’t seen it.”
“I know.”
“But it’s handmade.”
“No.”
“It supports local artists.”
Their mother stops.
Ella looks at Astrid.
Astrid looks at Ella.
They have discovered a new sales technique.
🇸🇪 AND THEN THERE IS IKEA
There is, however, one place capable of producing complete harmony between the twins.
Not the beach.
Not the swimming pool.
Not even the market.
IKEA.
To Ella and Astrid, IKEA is not a furniture shop.
It is basically a Swedish theme park.
There are rooms you can pretend to live in. Tiny apartments. Beds you aren’t supposed to lie on. Cupboards you absolutely must open. Pencils. Candles. Cushions.
And, most importantly:
KÖTTBULLAR.
The twins could happily spend an entire Saturday there.
Their mother cannot.
Which leads to the recurring family debate:
“Girls, we’re having lunch at the beach club.”
Silence.
“Girls?”
“Could we go to IKEA?”
“We live in Marbella.”
“Yes.”
“Next to the Mediterranean.”
“Yes.”
“And you want to eat lunch at IKEA?”
“Köttbullar.”
Both girls say it simultaneously.
Their mother tries another approach.
“The beach club has a beautiful pool.”
“We have a pool.”
“It has a sea view.”
“We’ve seen the sea.”
“There will be ice cream.”
Pause.
The twins exchange a look.
Negotiations have officially reopened.
🇸🇪 BEACH CLUB PRISON
Ella and Astrid have a complicated relationship with Marbella beach clubs.
Their parents love them.
The twins have questions.
Why does lunch need to take three hours?
Why do adults order coffee after dessert when everybody could simply go swimming?
Why are there enormous sofas everywhere?
And why do grown-ups say, “Isn’t this relaxing?” while preventing children from doing anything remotely relaxing?
The twins have therefore invented their own name:
BEACH CLUB PRISON.
There is, however, an escape clause.
Good ice cream.
A beach club with boring adults but excellent chocolate ice cream can receive a respectable rating.
One with a pool? Better.
One with other children? Very good.
One where Pippi & Pelle are welcome?
Now we’re talking.
Their unofficial rating system:
Pool: 8/10
Beach: 9/10
Other kids: 10/10
Adults talking forever: 1/10
Ice cream: potentially 47/10
The LITTLE EXPATS editorial team may eventually require an entire investigation.
🇸🇪 THE GREAT KÖTTBULLAR VS. BEACH CLUB BATTLE
Sunday. 12:03 p.m.
The family is getting ready.
Papa has the car keys.
Mamma is wearing sunglasses.
The twins know immediately.
“Beach club?”
“Yes.”
“IKEA?”
“No.”
“Köttbullar?”
“No.”
“Can we vote?”
“No.”
“That’s not democracy.”
“You’re ten.”
“That doesn’t mean we don’t have rights.”
Mamma closes her eyes.
Papa suddenly becomes extremely interested in the car.
Pelle barks.
“Pelle votes IKEA,” says Astrid.
“Definitely,” says Ella.
“Pelle doesn’t vote.”
Pippi barks.
“That’s two votes.”
And this, dear readers, is how international diplomacy works in Marbella.
🇸🇪 FIKA IS NOT A SNACK. IT IS A LIFESTYLE.
Despite living in Spain, the twins remain extremely serious about one Swedish institution:
Fika.
Fika is technically a moment to stop, sit together and have something sweet.
For Ella and Astrid, the definition is broader.
After school? Fika.
After padel? Fika.
After swimming? Fika.
During bracelet making? Definitely fika.
Twenty minutes before dinner?
“Mamma says no.”
“Did you actually ask?”
“No.”
“Then technically she hasn’t said no.”
Twin logic.
Their favourites are kanelbullar, strawberries, pancakes with berries and anything involving cinnamon.
They also love Spanish food.
But ask them to choose between an elegant Marbella lunch and warm Swedish meatballs?
You already know the answer.
🇸🇪 GARDEN PARTY SEASON
The family has lots of Swedish and international friends around Marbella, so weekends often turn into garden parties.
Adults talking. Children everywhere. Music playing. Food appearing from different kitchens and countries. Dogs running under tables. Someone jumping into the pool. Someone else insisting they absolutely did not push them.
Ella and Astrid love these afternoons.
They make bracelets with friends, paint, swim, invent competitions and disappear into the garden.
Every now and then one of the adults asks:
“Where are the twins?”
This is usually followed by silence.
Then:
SPLASH.
Found them.
🇸🇪 SOMETIMES MARBELLA ISN’T ENOUGH
Every now and then the family heads to Málaga.
For the twins, Málaga means a completely different adventure.
Museums. Markets. Street art. The port. Little cafés. Interesting buildings. People everywhere.
Ella photographs details.
Astrid spots something across the street.
“Look!”
“I saw it.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I literally just photographed it.”
“Oh.”
They love art because neither girl believes art belongs only inside museums.
Art can be painted. Worn. Photographed. Made from beads. Found on a wall. Drawn in the sand.
Or accidentally created by Pelle walking across a wet painting.
That particular masterpiece is still under discussion.
🇸🇪 THE THING ABOUT TWINS
Ella and Astrid can argue about almost anything.
Who gets the window seat. Who had the pink towel first. Who used whose beads. Who gets the last pancake. Who gets the last word.
Especially the last word.
But there is something fascinating about them.
Sometimes Ella begins talking…
…and Astrid already knows the ending.
“Remember when Papa dropped his—”
“—phone in the pool?”
“And then he tried to—”
“—pretend it was waterproof?”
“And Mamma said—”
Both together:
“I TOLD YOU SO!”
And they’re gone.
Laughing so hard they can barely breathe.
Nobody else understands why it’s still funny.
They don’t care.
Because beneath all the arguing and competing and stealing each other’s hair clips, there is something extraordinarily strong.
They are a team.
If Ella is nervous, Astrid knows.
If Astrid is sad, Ella knows.
And if someone else picks on one twin?
Suddenly you aren’t dealing with Ella.
Or Astrid.
You’re dealing with:
THE TWINS.
Good luck.
🇸🇪 ELLA & ASTRID’S LITTLE EXPAT CARD 🇪🇸
NAMES: Ella & Astrid
AGE: 10
BORN: Stockholm, Sweden
HOME NOW: Marbella, Spain
SCHOOL: International school in Marbella
LANGUAGES: Swedish • English • Spanish — frequently in the same conversation
LOVES: Pippi & Pelle, the sea, friends, markets, painting, beads & making jewellery
SPORTS: padel • swimming • SUP • kayaking • sailing • beach sports
SWEDISH OBSESSION: IKEA & Köttbullar
SWEET OBSESSION: pancakes, kanelbullar & ice cream
WEEKEND HEAVEN: friends + pool + dogs + garden party + beach
WEEKEND NIGHTMARE: four hours of adults talking at a beach club
SURVIVAL STRATEGY: locate ice cream immediately
SPECIAL TALENT: finishing each other’s sentences
SECRET WEAKNESS: neither can allow the other to have the last word
SUPERPOWER: knowing exactly what the other one is thinking
FAVOURITE FAMILY QUESTION: “Can we go to IKEA instead?”
🇸🇪 STOCKHOLM GAVE THEM FIKA.
☀️ MARBELLA GAVE THEM SUNSHINE.
🇸🇪 IKEA GAVE THEM KÖTTBULLAR.
And somewhere between Stockholm and Marbella, Ella and Astrid are creating a childhood entirely their own.
Swedish at home. English at school. Spanish in the streets.
Salt in their hair. Beads in their pockets. Pippi & Pelle at their feet.
And usually one argument that hasn’t technically finished yet.
“I’m having the last word.”
“No, I am.”
“Astrid.”
“Ella.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
Silence.
Five seconds.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Köttbullar?”
“Obviously.”
🇸🇪 MEET ELLA & ASTRID 🇸🇪
Twins. Rivals. Best friends. Partners in crime.
Same birthday. Different opinions. One very sunny life in Marbella.
LITTLE EXPATS
BIG WORLD. LITTLE EXPLORERS.