Distraction in Carcassonne

I am the Mistress of Distraction. Always have been, always will be. I am unable to sit still and concentrate on anything that does not hold my interest fully.  Repetitive tasks and routine are a horror to me. A flighty and fickle person perhaps.  Which I suppose are rather good qualities if you run a bed and breakfast and meet different people on an almost daily basis because everyone is a tiny challenge.  I can provide an endless list of places and events with which to beautifully occupy most of my visitors. And mainly people are most complimentary because if you can exude enthusiasm along with a smile then it can be infectious.

Take yesterday for example, a list of horrors to achieve, all dismissed as I headed out to the springlike sunshine. A quick walk ended up as a two and a half hour hike. My companion was sighing deeply, I was undeterred however. The River Aude was tumbling and gushing like a madman possessed. We admired the early blossom, spied the first daisies and dandelions and peered closely at the tiny wild violets that hid shyly under fresh green shoots. We passed solitary fishermen standing in the gloomy shadows of the solid stark naked plane trees and grinned at the runners and cyclists as they sped by.

And once again the mystical presence of La Cité loomed over us it's spell capturing our imaginations as I waxed lyrical on the hours that could be spent happily roaming within it's walls.

When I got home I penned a little poem because Carcassonne is full of ghosts and memories of times and people past and some are simply impossible to forget.


I love to watch the river flowing by
See the stones where we would sit
Take silly pictures
Giggle a little bit

The only thing that keeps me going
Is knowing I will see you soon
We can go out dancing
Return home by the light of the moon

We pretend it never happened
That life did not change
We will grow older together
It won’t seem so strange

But every time the sun shines
Or the rain pours down
I think of the times we spent together
With a smile not a frown