Winter means winter for the first time in five years....

So from the extreme muggy heat of Tennessean summers, we are now in the depths of a bitterly cold winter! This made our Christmas turkey dinner a lot more enjoyable than eating it in the LA heat.

It also makes wrapping up a lot more fun, for winter walks. Most exciting of all, our new home features daily visits from a family of deer, right in our back garden, grazing and playing. It's a lovely sight. 

Franklin Christmas Parade 2017

Hikes in the parks

Marcella Vivrette Smith Park has become my favourite hiking spot. There are several different trails, challenging gradient, plenty of wildlife (I saw a deer scampering through the forest last week) and great views. Needless to say my amateur photography doesn't do the place justice...

Autumn? Fall? It's all fun, y'all...

The months of September and October saw a (slight) drop in temperatures in the Southern state of Tennessee, which meant we were able to explore more of the abundant parks it has to offer. We also took a trip to the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, where we enjoyed the pumpkin house, beer garden with live Bluegrass music and a stately home to explore.

October 21st saw the Nashville Symphony open its doors for a free day of music. Ananya loved spending time in the Musical Petting Zoo, and we were all entranced by the symphony hall, musicians and particularly rousing performance of Elgar's Nimrod.

Instrument petting zoo at the Nashville Symphony's Free Music Day. 

The Nashville Symphony Orchestra

We were all ears

Cheekwood Estate

The Cheekwood Estate's annual Pumpkin House

Inside the stately home

Exploring the estate's grounds

Nashville zoo

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Great little zoo (well, little by American standards!) featuring lots of kid-friendly attractions, including a petting zoo and Carousel...

Third Coast Clay

There's an old Factory in Franklin, which has been converted into shops, boutiques, delicious bakeries and even a concert hall. It also houses a wonderful creative experience called Third Coast Clay.  It's a space/studio/shop to paint any items you choose from the shelves and have them glazed and fired for pick up the following week. There are a myriad of items to choose from: bowls, plates, cups obviously, but also figurines, nature-inspired pieces that would make great gifts, and all sorts of figurines.

It's especially appealing to children, and Ananya and I both had fun there today at our very first visit. She chose an elephant and soccer ball to paint, and knew the colors she wanted too. Looking forward to picking them up next week!

Parkinsons go West...

There’s an irony in the fact that Ananya’s favourite movie at the moment is Fievel Goes West…

We were West, but have now moved East. We’re in Nashville,Tennessee! Home of country music and also home to 72 new migrants every day. It’s America’s 4^th largest growing city in terms of industry and population migration, and there’s a lot of development. 

We live in Franklin, which is a charming city about 20 miles south of Nashville. It’s very green, with plenty of parks to explore. It has a town square which reminds me of the one from Back to the Future. The houses are a lot like the ones you’ll see in classic 80s movies set in America’s suBurbia; plenty of cul de sacs, huge front yards, double garages and basketball hoops. 

It’s been a month since we moved, at the start of July, and the weather is hot and humid. The wildlife is a lot more exotic than Los Angeles, in terms of insects! There are frequent thunderstorms with lightning straight out of a horror movie. Ananya seems to like them, for now...

Jim Warren Park, featuring a lovely pond and lots of pond life.

The Harpeth River, which winds its way through Brentwood and Franklin.

We tried out the storytime at Brentwood Library

We took a trip to a beautiful lake within Radnor State Park on the weekend of 23 July. Very pretty and can’t wait to visit again when it isn’t so hot!