The flights and hotels are booked.

We’re officially headed to Morocco and Portugal this May.

I’m officially going to have been to 30 countries by the time I turn 30.

For the record, I have the world’s greatest husband. I am so grateful he goes along with some of these crazy ideas and genuinely supports these silly goals that for some reason mean so much to me.

I am excited to have something so marvelous to look forward to, especially when both our jobs and my master’s degree program have been consuming all our time and energy. It will be nice to get away from everything for a couple of weeks, and I’m very excited for him to visit Africa for the first time.

It sounds like May is a pretty good time to hit both places–the weather is warm but not overwhelming, which it appears to quickly become as you head into June. We also leave after my first semester of graduate school ends, and I know mentally I’ll be in a good place to enjoy the break.

I’m still working on mapping out things to do in each place, but at least we have a final itinerary that looks something like this:

• Marrakech (3 days)
• Essaouira (day trip)
• Casablanca (1 day)
• Fes (2 days)
• Volubilis (day trip)
• Tangier (1 day)
• Chechaouene (day trip)
• Lisbon (3 days)

From the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Gibraltar, the High Atlas Mountains to the Rif Mountains, skirting the Sahara to exploring the Portuguese countryside, we should be able to experience a range of geography and related adventures unlike any other trips we’ve done.

Our frequent flyer miles and hotel points have helped us out once again so we can focus our efforts on in-country experiences, amazing cuisine and making memories.

I could insert any number of song lyrics and move lines about the various places and experiences in Morocco–but I think I’ll wait and make up a few of my own.

Anything we must see or do at any of our spots? We are open to suggestions!