Yesterday we went to Montjuic which translates to the mountain of the Jews.  We viewed the famous castle there which was built in the 1600s and was used during the Spanish Civil War as an execution site and military prison.  173 people were executed there during the war.  The view of the harbor and the sea was spectacular - you can see in the middle picture the W hotel in the distance.  We spent the day at the beach there on Wednesday.  The mediterranean was beautiful and the kids really enjoyed playing in the waves.  Below is a video of the castle.

Yesterday we went to the famous La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's masterpiece.  Can you believe that it has been under construction since the late 1800s and will not be completed until about 2026- the one hundredth anniversary of Gaudi's death!  He was so visionary and ahead of his time with this architectural feat.  

We went to the famous Pinotxo bar in the Mercat a la Bouqueria and ate beef cheeks, gambas, clams and deer meat.  It was all delicious!  Sasha and Noah ordered fruit smoothies and used their Spanish to order.

Ate our way through the first day in Barcelona.  Though exhausted from our travels we managed to find the best manchego cheese and jamon and nice cold beer - can't get much better than that!  Went to the top of an old bull fighting ring and got a spectacular view of the city.

Ellis Island

What a great way to start off our trip - a visit to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Noah and Sasha really enjoyed it after learning about it in school and they shared lots of facts with us.  We visited our family plaques -(the Morris Silverherz family from Meg's mom's side of the family and the Anne Zarchin plaque from Dan's mom's side of the family).   Next stop Barcelona!!