Wanderlust (noun): A strong desire to wander and travel the world

Written by Kari Sundberg, Grygla Eagle Editor

With a few impressive trips already under her belt, a recent adventure to Portugal and Spain, and a future (already booked) trip to Croatia, Megan Thompson’s desire to travel is alive and healthy.

An alumna of Grygla High School, and daughter of Bob and Lori Thompson, Megan currently lives in Roseville, MN, and is working at the University of MN East Bank Hospital as an RN in the float pool. Her professional life includes working on many different units including General Medicine, Cardiac, Post Organ Transplant, Bone Marrow Transplant, and a Progressive Care or ICE Step-Down Unit.

Her personal life includes traveling to many different parts of the world and exploring as much as she possibly can.

One of those adventures was a recent trip to Portugal and Spain. Megan visited the European countries May 18-26 with a friend and fellow EF travelers. The trip was booked through EF Ultimate Break, which is a tour company that organized trips for groups of people ages 18-29 from all over the world. The company does all the planning including flights, lodging, itineraries and providing the group with a tour guide. Megan’s tour guide was named Serai, who is originally from Madrid, Spain. “Some people go with one other person they know, which is what I did, and others go on their own because in this group setting you’re never really on your own,” she explained. Megan had such a great experience that she has already booked another trip with EF next May 2020 to Croatia! Over half of that trip will consist of the group island-hopping via a private boat. Megan will be traveling with her same tour guide, Serai, on that trip, as well.

For now, let’s dive into her recent ventures across globe.

Megan landed in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 18th. When the group arrived, they stayed at a hotel overlooking Benfica Soccer Stadium. She described the many hills in the city, along with the beautiful streets and trees. Highlights here included visiting the Elevador de Santa Justa and an old ruins from the devastating earthquake and subsequent fire and tsunami in 1755. Megan said that beautiful tile work is a staple on many of the buildings in Lisbon. While in the city, she also visited Castelo de S. Jorge (St George’s castle) and took a walk down Lisbon’s iconic pink street. She says, “Pink Street is lined with bars but night life doesn’t get started until about 1am in Portugal.” On her last day there, Megan explored Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal, and took a quick dip in the cold Atlantic Ocean at Cascais. Her group also enjoyed a riverboat cruise on the Tagus River.  

Three days later, the next stop on the journey was a flight to Madrid, Spain. The group stayed in a hostel while in Madrid; it was located at the heart of the city. Megan explained, “Hostels are really cool because their purpose is to bring strangers together through travel. The hostel we stayed in housed six people per room in bunk beds. Because of the group we traveled through, we stayed as a group, but most people who stay in hostels are traveling alone and use this experience to meet new people.” She added, “Hostels also tend to organize optional group outings to help bring people together. For example, we were able to do a pub crawl through Madrid one night that was all organized by our hostel.” 

Some highlights in Madrid included a visit to Mercado De San Miguel, which is a market that sells many different types of drinks, food and desserts. Megan said the main square in Madrid’s City Center had a lot of beautiful, cool buildings and amazing architecture, along with Mariachi bands playing! She pointed out that the old square used to be a bull fighting arena. Other noteworthy stops included visits to the old national post office and Kilometer 0, which is Spain’s center. Megan also visited the famous Prado Museum while in Madrid, along with Buen Retiro Park, where Palacio de Cristal (a glass palace) is located. The group also did some exploring around the Royal Palace of Madrid.

With mounds of fun had in Madrid, and even getting to see a traditional Flamenco show, the group spent a full day on a bus, with their final destination bringing them to Barcelona on May 23rd, after a pit stop for lunch in Zaragoza.

Barcelona highlights included a walking tour of a gothic neighborhood. While out exploring, the group visited Plaça de Sant Felip Neri. Megan explained, “This square contains a church and school where there are marks on the walls left behind from a bombing during the Spanish Civil War where many were killed.” Other stops were made at the Cathedral of Barcelona, Güell Park and Sagrada Família, which is the most visited monument in Spain. With the official starting date of work on the basilica being 1882, construction is still under way with the hope to be finished by 2026. Eventually the work was entrusted to Antoni Gaudi in 1883. Gaudi completely changed the original project and began building his most famous work, which marked his style, made him known worldwide, and allowed him to be known as the master of modern architecture. From the time he took over the project until his death in 1926, Gaudi worked to build this unique temple that was intended to become a universal masterpiece combining all symbols of Christianity. With completion scheduled for 2026, this date is symbolic of the hundredth anniversary of Gaudi’s death. “The detailed architecture was truly breathtaking,” Megan recounted. One side of the church shows the story of Christ’s birth while the other shows the crucifixion. The doors leading to the outside tell the story of the days leading to the crucifixion from the Bible - written in Catalan.

Megan’s final day in Spain was May 26th. She continued to explore the city with her group and took a visit to the beach. The day was ended with goodbyes amongst the group and their tour director before heading to the airport in the early morning hours.

Megan posted many beautiful photos of Portugal and Spain on her Facebook page, but she shares a few of her favorites with you today. All photos are courtesy of Megan Thompson with descriptions included.

For now, it’s back home and back to work, but up next is Croatia – a trip Megan is already looking forward to!