Travel Pants: 7-Day Argentinean Staycation Planner

No money to travel South this year? Me either. Luckily for urbanites it's possible to experience the culture, cuisine, and aperitifs of other countries without even leaving city limits.

After a little bit of research and resourcefulness, Yelp.com and a Netflix account can take you anywhere on the map — through your city's overlooked neighborhood bars, specialty grocery markets, and fusion restaurants, as well as your own DVD player.

If part of traveling is the experiences that find you, inspire you, and help you escape, then you can truly achieve the same release by thinking outside of the box. Argentina warmly embraces tourists and invites them right into the local lifestyle, which is why many a foreigner has fallen in love with country (myself included).

Argentineans are open, they make jokes, they talk to strangers in cafes — they even invite you into their homes for not-so-small family barbeques. But they're also passionate in their politics, on the dance floor, and at soccer games (known as futbol matches). Argentina does a few things really well, too — tango, soccer, wine, just to name a few.

Nonetheless, Argentina is a country that's all too familiar with recessions. After the peso crashed in 2001, Buenos Aires fast became a travel bargain for many savvy American travelers, who hit the thriving metropolis to indulge in getaways and the center of an international art scene. Now, Shoestring shows you how to experience the raw romance of Argentina without the $1400 flight. Just follow this week-long Argentinean staycation planner and by the end of the week you'll be shouting, "Gol!"

SHOESTRING'S 7-DAY ARGENTINIAN STAYCATION PLANNER

Day #1: The Asado (aka Argentine BBQ)

Head to the local fine liquor mart, pick up a bottle of Crios Torrontes for white wine and either a bottle of Trapiche or Alamos Malbec for red wine, fire up the grill, and pile on every edible animal part you can get your hands on. Argentineans are known for their world-class steaks and other meats, but that's just one part of any good asado. Don't forget fresh bread and some simple salad with an oil and vinegar dressing. A good asado also includes french fries (as if the grilled meat wasn't enough fodder for a heart attack!) and vegetables, for which grilled eggplant and peppers tend to work well.  Don't forget the chimichurri — an essential condiment for any Argentinean meal. Invite all of your family and friends over, set up a picnic table, and don't forget that a typical Argentinean asado carries on long after the food is gone. Keep the wine and conversation flowing deep into the night and you've just experienced your first sobremesa.

Rusty on your Spanish? You can brush up by attending a local Spanish language MeetUp, community center conversation class, or even hiring a tutor from craigslist.org. Language classes are a great way to spend idle time between travels!

Day #2: Tango for Two
To set the mood, download a few classical tango albums from Argentina's native hero, Carlos Gardel. Or, if your company is musically inclined, you could play modern tango beats, found in the music of Gotan Project or Bajofondo. (The latter played a few shows in the U.S. just last month, drawing a huge crowd of tango enthusiasts and fans alike.)

Check out your local adult education center or dance studio to sign up for Argentine tango classes, or for the complete experience, find milongas (tango parties and events) being held in your area. If you're feeling shy, you could spend an entire immersed in the world of tango on YouTube alone. There are 125,000 videos tagged with the word tango and 1,870 with "how to tango." A few groups, such as TangoCity, even have their own channels with introductory videos. Create or sign in to a YouTube account to subscribe to their updates.

Day #3: Argentine Movies, More Mendoza Wine & Empanadas
For film lovers and those whose staycation budget is limited to laundry change, Valentin is a heartwarming film evoking the Buenos Aires of the 1960s. Nine Queens is a modern drama taking place in Buenos Aires, Bar El Chino is a tale of neighborhood life, and Intimate Stories weaves multiple storylines of game show contestants from different parts of Argentina. No homage to Argentinean cinema can be made, however, without Ricardo Darín—Argentina's most famous (and handsome) actor. Luna de Avellaneda, one of his best films, is a drama about a neighborhood social club struggling to survive.

Before you pop in DVDs and embark upon your Argentinean adventure through film, make some empanadas with dulce de leche for dessert. Dulce de leche is to Argentina what peanut butter is to America — ubiquitous and quintessential. Dulce de leche is the most characteristic Argentinean product you'll find abroad, and empanadas are as popular as pizza. Dulce de leche is a sweet dessert, caramel in color and like butterscotch in consistency. If you can get your hands on dulce de leche, also known as manjar, then great, and if not, use this recipe from the Food Network to make your own. La Salamandra Dulce de Leche is sold at Whole Foods for $5 to $6 a jar, or you can buy online from Amazon.com. Once you have your dulce de leche, head to any Latin American grocery store and pick up some square pastry masa (puff pastry can be substituted, too). It's time to make dessert empanadas! If you have leftovers, great: Argentines lather the stuff on bread for breakfast, too.

Day #4: Argentinean Art of Tea
If you haven't noticed yet, Argentinean life revolves around eating, drinking, and whiling away the time with friends. Café culture is as strong in Buenos Aires as it is in Paris. And while tea is typically thought to be a British pastime, it was the Brits' early influence on Argentina that brought high tea into the fold of national tradition. Tea menus are served at 4 p.m. every day, and most often include your choice of mate, tea, coffee, submarino (hot chocolate) accompanied by ham and cheese medialunas (croissants) and facturas (pastries), such as cookies and dulce de leche-filled delights.

Hot chocolate, or submarino, is an art in Argentina. Order one at a café and you'll be pleasantly surprised that this melt-in-your-mouth drink is made right in front of your eyes. The waiter brings you a glass of hot milk and a thin bar of solid chocolate. Submerge, stir, and voila!, your submarine has become a delectable hot chocolate. Recreate the submarino experience at home by warming milk on the stove and then dropping in a slim half Hershey bar.

Make high tea a whole-day affair by packing up your goodies in a picnic basket, heading out to the countryside, and packing some English- translation Argentinean paperbacks. Shoestring recommends Julio Cortázar for modern stories of Paris and Buenos Aires, Jorge Luis Borges for playful, heady, existentialist works, and Leopoldo Lugones for romantic poetry. Argentines spend time at the beach in the summer, but they keep the pampas even closer to their hearts.

Day #5: Soccer!
Everyone has at least one friend with the premium sports-plus cable package. Invite yourself over for a night (or better yet, a day) of playing soccer houligan and offer to bring the beer (Quilmes is an Argentinean import, if you can find it). Boca and River are the two main, and rival, clubs in Buenos Aires. For an eye-opening account of the global phenomenon of soccer and how it is often a vehicle for nationalism, check out the book How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer from your local library. The world has never been smaller or more global when viewed through the lens of soccer.

Argentina's most famous player, Diego Maradona, is not only a world class athlete but a cultural icon. He has his own TV show, calls Fidel Castro a friend, and sports a mullet hairstyle that has set the trend for many young and aspiring Latin American fubolistas. Just because you didn't actually go to a soccer match doesn't mean you can't sport a souvenir from your staycation. Pick up an Argentina soccer jersey online from WorldSoccerShop.com and support your new club proudly.

Day #6: Gaucho Horseback Riding
So you can't make it to the Argentinean pampas? No problem. Bring the pampas to your area riding stables in true gaucho style. First, you'll need a pañuelo (bandana), a collared shirt, and alpargatas (gaucho loafers) — all found online at ArgentinaPolo.com. Gaucho culture is as big and legendary in Argentina as cowboy culture is to the American West, and a day spent horseback riding followed by another asado is about as traditional as it gets. (Prior to your lesson, check out this clip from an upcoming documentary about Argentina and gaucho culture from San Telmo Productions, for the cojones and inspiration.)

Day #7: Mate and Guitar
We've reached the end of your Argentinean-themed staycation and forgotten a major pastime — mate! Mate is like green tea, but with the caffeine punch of coffee and the bitterness of espresso. Its full name is Yerba Mate — an herb with its own unique properties. Mate is a cousin of caffeine; mateina has the exact same effect. Learn all about the rituals of mate preparation on YouTube.

Fueled by the fire of your mate, pour your passion into a lesson or two on the acoustic guitar, ubiquitous among milongas and gaucho culture alike. Search or post an ad on Craigslist to find an instructor near you, or check with your local music school or community college for classical Argentine guitar classes.

Copyright 2009 Shoestring, LLC. Photo: iStock