We had only been dating 4 months when we decided to take a trip to North Africa together. While it wasn’t a test, we both had hoped the other could keep up with our particular travel style—an absolute requirement for two curious people who live to fill their passports.

When we both proudly showed up carry-on-only for a 2 week, multi-climate and multi-country adventure, we knew things were going to be just fine.

The trip to Spain and Morocco opened an emotional portal between us. Hours long walks through Barcelona’s streets and food hauls, getting lost in Marrakesh’s Medina, and a 12-hour drive to the desert, where we were the only English speakers, provided the kind of mental freedom we never found while hustling in New York. For the first time, we had space to really see each other.

We found our love language of Moorish architecture, interior design inspired by Gaudi’s organic shapes, following our noses to the best tagine that Morocco could offer, watching hundreds of shooting stars under a Saharan night sky, and both being too nice to haggle with a decidedly disappointed rug salesman.

We came back with a lot of souvenirs. The most prized, a real commitment to each other. And an incredible Berber area rug.