photo credit: unruly chaffinch

I have been saving money since I graduated college.

Well before our RTW adventure had even been dreamt of I was saving because I knew that money in the bank gave me freedom. Freedom to spend money on the things that were important to me.

Freedom to eat incredible food at nice restaurants every now and then…

Freedom to buy nice gifts for people when I can…

And most importantly, freedom to eventually travel.

But to save money and earn this freedom, I have had to sacrifice a few things that others would find painful.

Late nights out at bars with friends…

Fancy one-week vacations from work…

A slick new car…

Luckily, when you prioritize travel as the #1 thing you want in life, you’re able to recalibrate your values and realize that the $10 rum and coke being ordered would cover your lodging and dinner in Thailand for a night (so we’ve heard).

Now that we are on the road without jobs, we are no longer in saving mode. Now it is full-on conservation mode.

Do we make dinner tonight or go out for a nice steak? Should we pay for that museum tour or try and latch on to the free city tour? What was once a daily Starbucks habit now becomes only something for the ultra-wealthy traveling retirees.

I don’t mind counting my pennies on the road if it means I can travel longer. But you know what really hurts?

Saving a few bucks by staying in hostel dorms and sleeping in separate twin beds… typically of the bunked variety.

Being married is supposed to guarantee that a lady sleeps next to me most nights! Isn’t that why all guys eventually take the plunge?

The cold hard truth of traveling as a couple: You sometimes have to stay in hostel dorms to save on cash. It’s just a fact.

But you can’t travel a whole year like that. Sometimes you need to book a private room and have more privacy to unpack your stuff, relax, and do married people things (like cuddle… get your minds out of the gutter).

How could I not want to sleep next to this lovely creature?

Cheap hostels can turn into expensive hostels though when you are paying for a private. In Buenos Aires, we saw $12 dorm beds turn into $26/person privates (that’s $52 per couple for you math majors).

What to do?

Rent an apartment. They can often be cheaper than a private room at a hostel and a WHOLE lot nicer.

I’m talking a living room, porch, private bathroom that is actually clean, kitchen, and work area.

MTV cribs here you come.

But where to start? You don’t know the city you’re heading to, you don’t know the people, and you just have no idea where to begin.

Enter Roomorama

Roomorama is an online portal that let’s travelers book short term apartment rentals. It is super easy with a good amount of options overseas depending on the city you are looking to stay. For Buenos Aires, there was more than enough to make us happy.

In their own words:

Roomorama is the discerning traveler’s one-stop shop for short-term rentals. Wherever your next trip will be, or wherever your property is, use our online marketplace to connect and transact with hosts and guests who believe in convenient, rewarding and unique travel experiences. With an ever-growing inventory of hospitable accommodations, Roomorama is working to make you feel at home wherever you are.

Why Roomorama?

Besides doing much of the heavy lifting for you (like combining many local apartment listings into one searchable portal, showing availability, and booking directly through the site), they also handle the cash.

I am always leery about handing my scrupulously saved money over to a stranger. This is why having an online site like Roomorama take care of the transaction makes so much sense.

They book the room, but don’t fully process it until you are checked-in and have handed over their previously provided unique payment code to the rental owner.

Our Experience

The online experience at Roomorama was incredibly easy. Find a few nice looking apartments… inquire as to their availability… then book and pay via paypal. Simple!

This being our first weekly apartment rental in a foreign country, we were on guard for any of a thousand possibilities that could make renting an apartment a horrible experience.

But dang… were we surprised.

The wifi was fast, the apartment felt safe, and we could not have been happier (as you can tell from our glowing recommendation).

It was in an amazing location in the heart of Palermo Soho…

Beautiful open living room and kitchen with a nice work area for those extra dedicated road warriors…

There was too much good food in Buenos Aires to cook every night... but we tried to use the kitchen as much as possible!

A large bedroom…

And an incredibly luxurious bathroom (especially after a month of shared hostel bathrooms)…

Really loved the high powered face wash next to the toilet... Wish every apartment had one of those!

Bonus points for a lovely porch just perfect for meals.

Oh, and most importantly for Buenos Aires… AIR CONDITIONING!

For only US$45 per day, we were able to rent this incredible apartment for the week. Again, just a reminder, but the hostel we were originally staying at charged $52 per day for a private room… and we still would have had to share a bathroom and kitchen and deal with hostel noise!

When To Use Roomorama?

From our perspective, using roomorama makes total sense for the couple traveling for extended periods or any couple staying in one location for more than a few days.

It would even be a good fit for the solo traveler who values privacy over just the lowest room price.

There is a fee to book through Roomorama that increases based on the number of days you reserve. For example, our US$315 reservation for 7 nights had an additional fee of US$30.

Pricey, but not ridiculous. It basically added an extra US$4 to our daily rent… still less than that private hostel. This just meant that we made sure to book a place for at least a week as the fee per day is less the longer you stay.

As always, do your research.

Sometimes you can find cheap private hostel rooms in a great neighborhood with little noise (good luck).

Sometimes you might value the comradarie of hostel life over the peace and quiet of your own apartment.

Sometimes you might not be staying long enough to justify an apartment rental.

But honestly… after staying in this beautiful apartment in Buenos Aires that we booked through Roomorama, I don’t know how we’re going back to dorm rooms in hostels.

It’s going to be rough transition!

LandingStanding is focused on sharing our adventures as a couple on the road, but also on providing you with helpful advice so that you can hopefully join us. Because of our focus on budget traveling as a couple, Roomorama reached out to us so that we could try really living like a local while in Buenos Aires. In return for a discount on the stated price, they asked us to write an unbiased review of our experience. As always, all opinions are our own and we would tell you if we hated it. But we didn’t. It rocked.

When it comes to food, certain combos just work: Salt & pepper, cheese & crackers, eggs & bacon, and (my personal favorite) chocolate & peanut butter… swoon.

However, on the road I discovered a whole new award winning culinary combo:

Avocado and Tomato

They are the new celebrity couple of my foreign cooking world, which is why I have given them the couple name Avomato (or Tovocado).

It is with Avomato that we have made some of our most simple, healthy, and inexpensive meals on the road.  Here are just some of the reasons why these two veggies rock:

1. It’s summer here in South America, so tomatoes are in season and oh-so-delicious.
2. Both avocados and tomatoes can be found at almost any local vegetable market.
3. Tomatoes are high in antioxidants (good to detox with from all the wine we drink!) and have 38% of your daily Vitamin C needs to keep a backpacker’s immune system strong.
4. Avocados have a decent amount of calories in them so they fill you up.  Although, don’t be scared by their fat content. The fat in an avocado is monounsaturated fat — the “good” kind that actually lowers cholesterol levels.
5. Avocados and tomatoes are so flavorful on their own.  All it takes is a little drizzle of olive oil and some salt & pepper to turn them into a luxurious treat (or you can just eat them as is!).

Here are some of our favorite “Avomado” backpacker dishes:

Tomato and avocado with toasted baguettes:

No avocado in this picture but you get the point. You can also add a little fruit bowl (like we did) if you're feeling a little crazy!

Slice and toast a baguette and top with sliced tomato and avocado. Drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle some salt & pepper on the veggies if desired.

• Note: This meal is awesome if you have been eating like a king all day and want something light for dinner.
• Total cost: Under $1 USD per person

Grilled chicken burgers with tomato, avocado, and hot sauce:

Grill or pan cook a chicken burger, toast some buns, and make yourself a burger with tomato and avocado as your condiments.  Tony and I personally adore this with some hot sauce, but I am sure mustard would be pretty darn tasty with this dish as well.

• Note: This use of Avomado combines all the great health benefits of these veggies with some carbs and protein to make this a complete meal and to keep you satisfied for hours!
• Total cost: $2 USD per person

What are YOUR favorite food combos that are easy to experiment with on the road?

Tony... An instant fan

The gang at Cocina Sunae

If there is any wisdom I could pass along to other backpackers travelling the world, it is to MAKE FRIENDS!

It seriously will change the entire outcome of your trip in the best ways imaginable. Interacting with others will be stimulating and enriching. It will also allows you to do things during your travels that you may have not even known about or may not have done without friends to share the adventure with.

Since arriving in Buenos Aires, Tony and I have met some extraordinary travel buddies such as Michael from Art of Backpacking, Stephanie from Twenty-Something Travel, and Leanne and Leah from Start Somewhere.

It is through them that we learned about (and experienced) the city’s infamous drum rave, La Bomba del Tiempo, ate the best tacos in Buenos Aires (and possibly the world), laughed our asses off at a gringo comedy club, stuffed our faces at an indoor Argentinean Asado, and (my personal favorite) dined at the closed door restaurant Cocina Sunae.

Another piece of wisdom I will give you: If you are ever in Buenos Aires, DO NOT miss the opportunity to dine out at one of the city’s many closed door restaurants. 

For those of you unfamiliar with closed door (or underground) restaurants, here is Wikipedia’s detailed definition:

An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a supper club or closed door restaurant, is an eating establishment operated out of someone’s home. They are, in effect, paying dinner parties. They are usually advertised by word of mouth or guerilla advertising, often on Facebook, and may require references to make a reservation.

Underground restaurants are popular in Latin America, where they’re known as either a paladar or a restaurante de puertas cerradas (closed door restaurant). They’ve been built into the culture for decade and are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S

The attraction of the underground restaurant for the customer is to sample new food, often at low cost outside the traditional restaurant experience, which can be expensive and disappointing—underground restaurants have been described as “anti-restaurants.” They also generally provide a more intimate, dinner party style experience. For the host, the benefit is to experiment with cooking without being required to invest in a restaurant proper.

Michael and Stephanie were the ones that told us about these closed door restaurants in Buenos Aires and I was immediately captivated.  We got a group together (Leanne and Leah included) and made a super secretive reservation with Cocina Sunae… Okay, so we just went to their website to make the reservation, but it still felt badass.

Cocina Sunae is run by a Philippine-American named Sunae. Having worked in Asian restaurants in New York, she was ready to open a Southeast Asian eatery out of her home in Buenos Aires.

Cocina Sunae is open every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night and the address of her home is only revealed upon a reservation confirmation in the form of a 50% deposit.  It is here where you can enjoy a four-course, home cooked Asian meal that combines wonderfully spicy, tangy and sweet flavors in every dish.

I was originally skeptical about eating an Asian meal in Buenos Aires of all places – Why eat Asian food when I could be having a steak dinner?!

However, it turned out to be the best meal I have had in South America yet.

We arrived at Sunae’s home and were greeted by a doorman who led us through a beautiful outdoor patio area into the dining room of the home.  The dining room looked similar to any restaurant dining room, but it only held 25 tops.

What I was most amazed with was the fact that the entire restaurant operation was run out of a kitchen no bigger than my mom’s.

Since the menu was prix fixe, we could just let the night unfold by itself without having to scour the menu for dinner options. The only thing we had to make a decision on was the wine.  And of course, with our thirsty group, we ordered a couple for the table.

It took awhile for the food to arrive (small kitchen, remember?), but it was well worth the wait.  Here were the dishes we enjoyed throughout the meal (and since there were six travel bloggers at our table, there were LOTS of food pictures taken).

Fried shrimp spring rolls and vegetables served with Garlic shallot sauce and sweet chili dipping sauce: This dish had all the benefits of spring rolls and egg rolls combined.  They were light and clean, yet fried just enough to give them that desired crunch. What really knocked these out of the park though were the dipping sauces.

Tony loved the sweet chili dipping sauce and I loved the huge chucks of freshly minced garlic in the shallot sauce.  I actually loved both so much that I started doing the double dip of the spring rolls in both the shallot and chili sauce… Epic combo right there.

Spicy chicken tossed with fresh lettuce wraps, mint leaves, cilantro, roasted rice and citric crush dressing:  In this dish, you could really taste the difference in home cooking versus restaurant cooking.

I was a fan back in the states of P.F. Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps (never again!), but these tasted so darn light.  The chicken was so tender… and simple.  It tasted like something your mom would cook you at home. The only additive to the chicken was the citric crush dressing that had a delicate spiciness to it.

Pork braised in Chiang Mai curry with cumin, turmeric, ginger and peanuts, served with steamed rice: Best. Pork. Ever. Braised meat always turns out AMAZING and this pork was melt-in-your-mouth succulent… It was almost cheating!  The curry was also a flavor explosion in your mouth.

Vermicelli rice noodles sautéed with chicken, prawns, shitake mushrooms and vegetables with lemon sauce: So I said this was a four course meal but we had the option between two main courses (the pork and the noodles) so, naturally, I made Tony split his with me as well.

Wise decision on his part.  No need to end a completely happy marriage over restaurant greediness.  Sharing is caring.

Anyways, this dish was also fantastic.  The noodles were paper thin and married well with the stir-fry they accompanied.  They also had a homemade spicy sauce at the table that I doused my bowl in, which made this dish muy caliente! Tony is a HUGE fan of Pho, and I think this dish will hold him over until we get to Vietnam in the summer.

Homemade key lime pie with ginger cookie crust, meringue pandan and green tea ice cream:  Having travelled a lot in the Caribbean and having lived in Florida for two years, Tony and I have consumed a TON of key lime pie in our past.

I may be going out on a limb here, but this could have been the best (at least the second best) key lime pie we have ever had.  It was the perfect combination of tart and sweet and the ginger cookie crust was simply genius.  Plus, the green tea ice cream went surprisingly well with the dish… Who woulda thunk?

After the dinner was over, I was full but everything was so good that I wouldn’t have put it past myself to eat another round (or two) of everything we just ate.

Now, I am a total fat kid and think most food is epic, but my dining pals were equally enthusiastic about the meal we just had.

I am so glad Michael and Stephanie introduced us to the world of closed door dining.  It truly is the best of both worlds, combining the comforts and freshness of a home cooked meal with the formality of an intimate night out.

Cocina Sunae was absolute perfección!

Relaxing at a beer garden in Mendoza, Argentina... Could life be any sweeter?

We are about a month and a half into our travels and having an unbelievable experience. As our trip progresses, the desire to turn world travel into a lifelong adventure becomes more and more intense.  I have no idea yet how Tony and I are going to personally achieve this lifestyle, but I am learning from other travel bloggers along the way.  Here were some helpful (and entertaining) articles from this past week:

• Tony and I typically do not do anything crazy for Valentine’s Day back in the states (it’s a Hallmark holiday afterall, right?!) but we thought it was pretty cool to be spending this romantic day in Buenos Aires of all places.  Having said this, we decided to take each other out on a date night for some famous Argentinean steak. When travelling long term as a couple, it is important to treat each other special once in awhile.  Want more tips on keeping the relationship fresh on the road? Four Jandals has you covered.
• Want to travel for a month to Grenada, St Martin, and the BVIs for under $600 (all in)? Or what about traveling full time for $17,000 a year? If this sounds like the dream life, Nora offers up some great tips on how you can make it a reality.
• Tony and I recently went on food tour in Buenos Aires and had an absolute blast.  Taking a food tour was such a great way for us to learn about the culinary history and traditions of the region.  I also would love to take a cooking class sometime during our RTW trip. When we make it to Thailand this summer, I might have to check out a Time for Lime course on the island of Koh Lanta. Jess’ experience sounds amazing… What a way to spend a day at the beach!
• Matt shares a great post on Five Things I Wish I Knew About Travel When I Was Young and Stupid.  What are some things you learned while travelling?  The one thing I can relate to on Matt’s list is that you can’t do it all.  Being on our journey, Tony and I have realized how much there is to see… And our time and money will not allow for us to visit every cool destination on the planet.  For example, we just had to make the tough decision to forego Iguazu Falls while in Argentina.  But that just gives us a reason to come back to Aregtina later in life!
• We might also have to forego Australia this year, depending on how expensive it is to travel there.  But it would be really sad to miss out on all the great surfing the country has to offer… Tear!
• What’s Mike’s recipe for a kickass dinner party in China? Ordering double the amount of food you could possibly eat and triple the amount of beers you could possibly drink… Not sure about you, but this sounds like a guy I want to rage with.
• It’s a little over a month into our trip and we are way over our intended budget. Travel Dudes has some great tips though on how you can travel for free… Tony and I definitely need to get on some of these gigs.
• Hooray to Kim and Brian for reaching their RTW savings goal! It is such a good feeling… Although with all the fun we have been having abroad, I wished I would have saved more!
• We recently started a Hostel Cooking 101 series on our blog and I am thinking Côte de Bœuf might be an excellent dish (i.e. it requires few ingredients and is quick to whip up) to make in Buenos Aires, where the meat is sooo darn good.  It might be a stretch (and I might royally eff it up), but I am ready to get aggressive with my experimentations!
• Once our trip is over with, we will have to decide where to live back in the states.  Chicago wasn’t originally on our list but after reading about taco pizza in Chi-Town, I may have to re-consider.  Priorities.

Fish in a hostel?!  Are these LandingStanding people crazy?!

Yes, maybe.  Fish can be intimidating to cook, right? It’s delicate and easy to destroy if you cook it for just one tiny minute too many. So why in the world would we attempt to cook it in a hostel? And how?

Simplicity is how.

This was our first experiment with a gourmet meal at a hostel.  It may not sound all that gourmet (it’s not a soufflé or anything), but after days of tomato and avocado on bread, it was a pretty darn fancy meal.

My initial thought of cooking delicate fish in a hostel was that we were going to royally mess this fish up.   However, when it comes to cooking fresh fish, the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method is the #1 rule to follow.  And boy was this fish FRESH.

After several days in Santiago, Tony and I checked out the famous Mercado Central, which is the city’s central fish market.  It is here you will find whole squid, hoards of machas (a.k.a. clams), eel the size of Amazon snakes, and much more.

Tony and I visited the market a couple of time to snap a few photos of the place but on this one day, we decided to plug our noses and dive into the market as actual customers.

Tony and I weren’t familiar with any of the fish being sold (besides Salmon), so we decided to take a risk and order a couple filets of the Tollo (a delicate white fish similar to Halibut).  After we had the fish scaled and wrapped up, we headed across the street to Santiago’s premier fruit and vegetable market, La Vega, to pick up veggies to accompany our beautiful filets.

Some epic produce at La Vega

Now, some might cringe when I confess that we cooked our delicate fish in a pan as opposed to gently baking it, but when you are living in a hostel and your resources in the kitchen are limited, you gotta make do.  Surprisingly, the fish was delicious pan cooked – and ridiculously quick and easy to make!

Here is our recipe for our kickass fish.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 filets of Tollo fish (or any fish filleted thinly)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large tomato
• 1  eggplant
• 1 Jalapeno chili pepper (this gives the dish the perfect amount of spicy kick)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Dice up all the veggies and chili pepper
2. Sautee the onion in a pan with a dash of olive oil until caramelized and tender.  As Tony points out, it’s okay to burn those suckers
3. Toss in the remaining veggies into the pan to cook down with the onions
4. Season the fish with salt and pepper
5. In a separate pan, cook the fish with olive oil and lemon for roughly one or two minutes on each side (depending on thickness).  When your fork can poke cleanly through the fish and there is no resistance, the fish is done.
6. Combine the veggies and fish and plate… Enjoy!

Total Cost: Most local markets are super cheap in South America and we were able to make this gourmet meal for $7 for two people.

Ohhh how those wonderful Argentine's love their meat...

I once read that Buenos Aires was just like an old European city (the “Paris of South America”) except that it had not been taken care of in 30 years. The best analogy though might be from Tourist 2 Townie, who said it was like a Silver Fox (“Rugged and aged with a lot of great stories to tell, but still energetic and good looking”).

Seems about right.

As opposed to the many famous Italian cities that can sometimes make you feel like you are in a Historical Disney Land, Buenos Aires feels lived-in. With every ounce of history squeezing out of the pores of its buildings.

But I like that.

The city is much more alive and on edge than relatively tranquil Santiago. But again, it’s only been a few days, so I’m sure many of the following impressions will change:

• Drivers have never met a pedestrian they haven’t wanted to hit as they accelerate through intersections.
• You eat dinner late and go out for drinks early… really early… like 12 or 1am.
• People have tremendous love for their Argentinian meat… and deservedly so.
• You better love Ice Cream because it is everywhere… and sooo good.
• Crime feels more present as even locals carry their bags in front of themselves and warn tourists about having their cameras stolen from around their neck.
• Between the cobblestones, uneven sidewalks, and copious amounts of dog poop… make sure you watch where you are walking.
• There are more backpackers and travel bloggers around as there seems to be so much to explore and learn in the city.
• A lot of incredible sights, museums, and tours to do. We might just have to extend our stay an extra week to get it all in!
• An older public transportation system that definitely gets you where you want to go. The buses are beyond confusing… but thank you internet for omnilineas.com!

These are just my first impressions of Buenos Aires and I can guarantee they will change in the 20 days we are staying here. What do I have wrong so far? What are some of the must-do’s?

If you have been actively reading our blog, you are probably well aware by now that the way to my heart is through my stomach…

… And Buenos Aires has me head over heels in love.

Being the lucky girl that I am, this love affair started within the first 24 hours of arriving in this magical city. Now, I may not be a believer in love at first sight, but love at first bite is a whole different story!

On the second day of our trip, Tony and I were graciously invited to attend a day of eating and drinking our way through the city via Buenos Aires Food Tours. This seemed too good to pass up!

Before I start divulging into the gluttonous day we spent with Buenos Aires Food Tours, I will give you a little background on the company:

Buenos Aires Food Tours was started up by ethnic dining expert Graciela (whom also founded Miami Culinary Tours) roughly a year ago and provides culinary walking tours around the San Telmo, La Boca, and Recoleta neighborhoods (a.k.a. Barrios).

This unique tour group, however, is not just about food.  Aside from pigging out on all the regional delicacies, they also want their customers to gain knowledge about the local community, the history of the city, and the beautiful architecture that defines Buenos Aires.

In addition to the distinctive approach on their tours, Buenos Aires Food Tours got exceptionally good TripAdvisor reviews.  After everything that I learned and read about this company, I was dying to see them in action.

We signed up for the San Telmo Food Tour, which was right in the neighborhood we were hostelling in.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the day.  I had never done a food tour before but, from what I gathered in my research, I imagined a BUNCH of walking around the city, followed by sampling small bites to eat at street vendors and markets.

As it turned out, it was so much different than what I expected… And so much better!

As I previously mentioned, I expected the day to involve a lot of walking, followed by mini samples of various street food.  Awesome? Yes.  Right up my ally? You betcha! But what about this scenario:

Our tour guide, Jorge

A full day of eating wonderful food and drinking luscious Argentinean wines at romantic local restaurants.  The day is peaceful, the ambiance is casual, and the company is superb.

In addition, there is an incredibly warm and knowledgeable local tour guide (and avid foodie) educating you on the local history and traditions as he orders more and more “must-tries” for the table.

Now, I am not sure about you but this second scenario is my idea of a dream day.  And that is exactly what we got on our Buenos Aires Food Tour.

Our tour guide, Jorge, started the day off by walking our group through Mercado San Telmo to teach us about the notorious cuts of meat in Argentina. During our time in the Mercado, he had us interacting with quirky butchers who were enthusiastic to show us the ropes to the world of meat, where no part of the pig or cow goes uneaten!

Yup. That's brains all right.

The butcher playing with beef tongue!

We then moved onto our first restaurant of the day, Pasaje Solar, which is situated in a charming house from the late nineteenth century.  Our group got seated in the romantic outdoor patio area that was surrounded by flowers and exposed brick from the house.  I immediately began to feel tranquil and in my element.

Jorge ordered a bottle of Argentinean Elementos Torrontes white wine for the table and that provided just enough lubrication for us to become BFF’s with the rest of our wonderful tour group.

The tour group foodies!

There was Marv and Margie, the power couple from New York taking advantage of a 2 week vacation. Despite them being Yankees fans, we somehow managed to really enjoy their company…

Then there was Stephen and Anna, a lovely European couple passionate about travel. He was from England and she was from Italy… so of course Tony had to bombard her with his questions and love for all things Italian.

The table conversation was flowing freely (along with the wine) and just as I started thinking the day couldn’t get any better, the food started to arrive at the table. Since there were a TON of traditional dishes consumed over the course of the meal, I figure it will be easiest to break the menu down a little bit below:

Pickled eggplant: This was our first dish.  A little appetizie if you will (I love my food abbreviations). This dish was a perfect balance of sweet and vinegary and tasted refreshing (yet hearty) smothered on top of the delicious table bread.

Pickled eggplant

Pizza with black olive dough: Yes, this was a pizza by any standards – melted cheese, tomato, etc.  But black olive dough?! This took this dish up so many notches it wasn’t even fair. Why haven’t we thought of this back in the states? Dear Dominos, this is your calling!

Pizza with black olive dough

Fried eggplant with tomatoes and cheese: Like the black olive pizza dough, having eggplant substitute regular pizza dough simply rocked. And it was fried.  Enough said. I think this is how I am going to make pizzas from now on.

Fried eggplant with tomatoes and cheese

Fried flank steak caprese: Okay noooow we have steak in replace of the dough.  Argentina is getting a little crazy on me!  This was soooo darn good.

Fried flank steak caprese

Spanish Tortilla with red sausage:  From studying abroad in Spain, I have had many a Spanish Tortilla, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, think of it as a thick potato and egg omelet.  Delicious.  Now take that and add succulent Argentinean red sausage.  Let’s just say that Tony was in heaven.

Spanish Tortilla with red sausage

Some additional treats ordered for the table included fried chard as well as stuffed mushrooms with parsley.  Both of these dishes were great, but the five dishes above were by far my favorites of the meal.

Fried chard

Stuffed mushrooms with parsley

When we were finished with our meal at Pasaje Solar, I thought the tour was finished for the day… And if it was, I would have left completely satisfied.

But then Jorge announced that we needed to move on to the restaurant where we would be eating LUNCH.

Como?!?!

I just had myself an Italian/Argentinean feast… Now you want me to eat more?!

But who was I to say no?

Resto del Viejo Hotel

So on we ventured to Resto del Viejo Hotel for lunch.

This restaurant was a fancy-pants restaurant that was decorated with stunning chandeliers, beautiful paintings, and an old fashioned bar.

Once again, Jorge ordered us up some fabulous wine for the table to start the meal off right.

I had a glass (okay, maybe two) of the Wayna 2007 Malbec, which I was obsessed with and Tony enjoyed a glass of the Alta Vista 2010 Torrontes.

Now we aren’t big white wine drinkers back home, but Argentina knows how to whip up some delicious white concoctions.

This wine was exquisite!

For lunch we gorged on veal milanese with homemade potato chips and grilled pork loin.  It is pretty clear at this point how Argentina got such a great reputation for its meat.

Veal milanese with homemade potato chips

Grilled pork loin

For dessert, Jorge had the waitor bring us sweet potato jelly with cheese cubes.  The dish came out, and I gotta say, it did NOT look appetizing.  However, I am a big believer that you should always try a dish once before turning your nose up to it.

Sweet potato jelly with cheese cubes

Luckily, it turned out to be pretty good.

Now, if I was given the option between ordering this again or ordering a big chocolate brownie sundae, I would without a doubt order the sundae!  But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the jellied sweet potato.

The meal finished up and the day was winding down.  At this point, I am mildly buzzed, ridiculously full, and loving life… And Jorge. I was also about 10 minutes away from curling up in a dark alley to take a nap.

Jorge must have seen the dopiness in the groups’ eyes… and he combated it in the most perfect way…

Coffee time!

For the last part of the tour, Jorge marched us into Bar Plaza Dorrego, which is the oldest bar in Buenos Aires (established in 1881) for some espresso. This wooden paneled bar has maintained its old school charm with pictures of celebrities (who used to stop by) hanging on its walls and names carved into the wooden chairs and benches.

Bar Plaza Dorrego

The draft beer and coffee also comes with a side of roasted peanuts and its completely kosher to throw your leftover shells on the floor, adding to its rustic flare.  It was the perfect way to end a perfect day.

Tony and I had an outstanding time on our Buenos Aires Food Tour.  It was a relaxing (and gluttonous!) day filled with great food, great wine, and great people.  Jorge was an amazing tour guide and his enthusiasm about Argentinean cuisine was contagious.  The day turned out to be completely different than what I had imagined, and I was grateful for that.

If you have a chance to travel to Buenos Aires, book a food tour immediately!  You will not be disappointed.  It’s such a great way to see the city and learn more about the culture of Buenos Aires – Plus who can pass up the opportunity to eat and drink ALL DAY LONG?

I sure can’t!

Disclosure: Tony and I were sponsored guests of Buenos Aires Food Tours and thus did not pay for our tour. As always, our opinions are our own and unbiased. If we hate it… you will know.

photo credit: 53 mm photogRaphy

On this day of love, what better way to celebrate V-Day than thanking you… our tremendous readers, tweeters, and commenters.

Just in January, we climbed mountains in Patagonia, traipsed all over Santiago hunting for the best food, and even stared in awe at a 150 foot wall of ice.

We have been fortunate to meet so many interesting people through LandingStanding that have all made our travels much more entertaining. We have even connected with other travel bloggers on the road, such as Emily in Chile, that we have been able to share experiences with and learn from. Having been on the road for a month, we are now fully aware of how complex (yet rewarding) world travel can be so we appreciate all the guidance we have received from those who have been in our shoes.

One such example would be our coffee date with Adventurous Kate prior to our RTW trip.  Kate is another Bostonian who is living our dream life… Traveling the world as a full-time job!  During our meet up with her, Kate helped answer all of our questions and calm our anxieties about travelling the globe. She even provided us with helpful tips on how to expand our blog in the backpacker community – Something she is a pro at!

Kate has a massive following of devoted readers through her website and was kind enough to highlight LandingStanding in her monthly newsletter. Check out what she said (and sign up for her great newsletter while you’re at it):

I am loving the posts from Tony and Meg of LandingStanding!  These two, an American married couple, are relatively new travel bloggers who just set off on their round-the-world trip.  I met them at home in Massachusetts just days before they left, and they are currently in Chile.  Check out Why You Must Shave Your Head For RTW Travel, Meg Has a Foodgasm at Aqui Esta Coco, and The Best Damn Sandwich. Seriously.

There are three things that make this blog great: Tony and Meg both have a great sense of humor, they shine as individuals rather than a “we we we” couple, and they don’t take themselves seriously whatsoever.  Their blog is a joy to read, and I look forward to following them around the world.

Because of your support, willingness to share our adventures with friends, and referrals from other travel bloggers like Kate, our audience has grown to over 1,800 monthly readers! Because of the great feedback you give us about our latest misadventures, we will hopefully continue to entertain not just Kate, but as many people as possible!

Additionally, your continued support means that we can continue to take advantage of some great sponsorship opportunities. You will soon be reading about a mind-meltingly good food tour we just went on in Buenos Aires and the tremendous apartment we are staying at in Palermo… all thanks to you!

So thank you again for everything you have done to share our story with friends and to join in the discussion through the comments section. We always look forward to hearing from you and desperately need all of the advice we can get. Traveling the world is hard!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Beautiful Buenos Aires

Freshly moved in to our beautiful one bed apartment in Palermo Soho… we are feeling GOOD! We have the next week to explore Buenos Aires, get some work done (long overdue), and plan the next leg of our adventure.

The biggest question mark in our itinerary right now? Do we make a detour and head to Iguazu Falls?

While not on our radar much before the trip, every single backpacker we met has almost cried when we told them we were not planning on going. Is it really that incredible?

In case you want more up-to-date information on where we are at the moment (the articles tend to be 2 weeks behind and not always chronological), make sure you like our facebook page and follow our adventures in real time. We post our pictures here first and give daily updates on all of our craziness.

Now if you want some real craziness… check out what our fellow travelers have been up to this past week:

• Do you know what the #1 reason people give for not traveling? Money. Well guess what? While there are a lot of different factors, it is not as expensive as you think. Just make a plan to save your cash so that you do not get too stressed.
• Is it sad that the top 2 reasons why I want to go to Belgium are a movie (In Bruges) and all of their delicious beers? Yeah… I didn’t think so. I’m glad you agree. Check out this delicious article from Brendan over at Art of Backpacking about his experience in a Belgian bar that served over… wait for it… 2004 beers! And don’t worry mom… beer is healthy. It can even help you finish marathons!
• Ohhhh Thailand. At this point, it has reached a mythical status for me. Enough travel bloggers have talked about how far you can stretch the dollar and how beautiful it can be, that these posts about secret islands and best beaches are now just pure travel porn.
• Talk about perfect timing… Check out 10 unusual things to do in Buenos Aires and watch us see how many we can do!
• I know Meg might be craving a few more dresses on this slow trip around the world, so this one is for her: 5 Reason Why I Backpack In A Dress.
• Why I am jealous of Brooke: She got to take this awesome night-time, full-moon tour in Sydney’s Royal National Park, she got to play with awesome glowsticks and take some wickedly badass photos, and she got to sleep on the beach and see an awesome sunrise.

Ahhh, Pasta.

The foundation of every cheap backpacker’s menu.

But don’t worry… this is not just a simple pasta recipe. Because everyone knows how to make pasta right?

WRONG!

Whether on the road or comfy in your own kitchen, there is such a thing as making bad pasta.

And you know what? You probably are.

How To Finally Make Pasta The RIGHT Way

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

The Sauce

Please... for foodies everywhere... make your own sauce!

1. Do not buy your pasta sauce… it is so easy and so much tastier to make your own. Simply go to the market before you start to cook and buy the tomatoes and whatever veggies you like. For a nice bolognese, buy some sausage or ground beef from the local butcher.
2. See below for our preferred way to make sauce, but pasta sauce is a very personal thing. No judgments here on what you want to add or takeaway.

The Pasta

Yes. I really am going to explain to you how to cook pasta. The most overlooked, but absolutely key, piece to the entire meal. You do not just boil water, throw in pasta, drain when cooked, and serve with sauce on top.

Lame!

The key to the best pasta of your life… the one secret that Meg and I have deduced from watching years of the food network and experimenting with pasta every other night on the road… is simple:

1. Cook the sauce in a larger pan than necessary.
2. Boil the water and add in a little salt and oil if desired.
3. Throw in the pasta as the water begins to roll.
4. IMPORTANT: Take the pasta out about a minute before it is al dente (that delicious texture that all true italians love) and instead of draining all of the water, use prongs to plop the pasta (along with some delicious starchy water) into the sauce pan. The starchy water does something transcendent to the sauce as the pasta and sauce bind together when mixed.
5. After a minute of stirring and massaging the sauce into the pores of the pasta, you should be ready to serve some perfectly cooked al dente pasta.

Ingredients

Recipe for 2 people (plus some small leftovers)

• 2-3 medium tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1 large green/red pepper
• 1 small hot pepper (if you like spice)
• 3 cloves of garlic (if you aren’t going out later or just don’t care about your bad breath)
• Mushrooms (if not too expensive from the market)
• Eggplant
• Red wine (You’re drinking red wine with your pasta, right?)

Cooking Instructions

1. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil.
2. Slice the onions and get them into an oil coated pan asap. We’re going to caramelize the heck out of these bad boys.
3. Now slice the pepper, eggplant, and mushrooms into strips while you mince the hot pepper and garlic. Dice the tomatoes into whatever size you prefer, but we like half inch chunks.
4. When the onions just begin to brown, throw in the eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and hot pepper. Let these cook until nice and soft as well. Do not be afraid to burn the onions. The reason caramelized onions are always so good at restaurants is because they brown them way past when most amateurs would… Burn those suckers!
5. Once the onions have that beautiful brown hue we’re looking for and the eggplant, pepper, mushrooms, hot pepper, and garlic have softened up, throw in the tomatoes with a healthy splash of whatever red wine you are having with your meal.
6. Keep the lid off of the pan and let the tomatoes soften until you have a nice healthy red liquid of tomatoes and wine marinating in all of those veggies. This should reduce nicely over the next 6 minutes.
7. The water in the pot should now be boiling, so throw in your pasta and add any salt or oil if you wish.
8. Test after 3 minutes for the proper texture. Remember, it should be a slightly more firm than al dente. After about 5-6 minutes, you should find what you’re looking for (times differ depending on the type of pasta).
9. Take your prongs and pluck the pasta, still dripping with water, into your sauce.
10. Mix so that the sauce envelopes the pasta and let this marinate for a minute or two.

Bueno!

Plate your creation and prepare to taste the best pasta you have ever cooked…

That is a LandingStanding Guarantee or your money-back!

Total cost of meal: US$6 for two people plus leftovers (counting the wine – add another $3… we’re on a budget!).