Parent's Visit--Barcelona, Lagrasse, Collioure, Carcassonne, etc.

Well for those relatives of mine, you know that Marie unfortunately broke her wrist during her visit, but that didn't put a damper on things! (She's doing fine now too).
We first did a lot of sightseeing around Barcelona--we went to the Parc Guell, la Catedral de Barcelona, the gothic quarters, the waterfront area by Port Vell and the Ciutadella (with the copy of the Arc de Triomphe).

We then went to these little seaside towns on the coast of Spain all the way up into France. We came upon Lagrasse, which was this very cute, tiny little town. Hardly anyone was there aside from a very large group of students visiting from Carcassonne.
It was a lot of fun, though the beginning was a little rough. We ended up having a hard time getting out the Barcelona city itself and then we got even more lost around Figueres. They end up deciding that it would be a great idea to drive up to one of many police officers (they're all wearing bulletproof vests and holding machine guns) creating a blockade in the middle of a circular intersection for directions. They probably thought we were insane. But during this trip we also got to see the most well-preserved castle city in the majority of Europe: Carcassonne.

To say it was beautiful doesn't really do it justice. It was breathtaking and really makes you wonder what it was like back in the day. It makes you believe in princesses and dragons. We stayed in this very fancy hotel in the center of the walled city and ate at the little restaurants that were scattered around the different small streets. We also were able to go to a French winery and have a private tour and wine-tasting within this house that was built in the 1200s..? (I can't remember clearly, but I remember being shocked at how old it was).
Anyway, though I had to leave a little earlier than my parents for my spring break to Rome, Corfu and Athens. Descriptions on that, coming up!