Ahh, Mendoza. Whether it is for a weekend or a year, I recommend Mendoza to anyone travelling in Argentina. The city is in the far west of Argentina, about 14 hours from Buenos Aires (straight west) and just east of the beautiful Andes. Mendoza gleans a lot of tourists for its fame as gateway to the wine of Argentina; the majority of Argentina’s vineyards are in the Mendoza province. As a bonus, many are in within convenient day trip distance from Mendoza ciudad and are often catered to on fun bike tours.

There are various companies who offer a wine and bike tour around the wineries of Maipu, a wine town just outside of Mendoza. A bike is a great way to visit wine country, because you are forced to be aware of everything around you as you drive around on the rough roads. You can't fall asleep on a bike. The wineries usually offer a tour of their premises and then a wine tasting of a variety of their wines at the end of the tour. Most wine and bike tours include lunch and run about 90 pesos for the day.

If you’ve tired of the bustle of Buenos Aires but still wonder about Argentine life, Mendoza is a great option. While it is still distinctly a city, the streets are wider than BsAs and the city resolutely shuts down for typical Argentine siesta hours (about 2 pm till 5 pm). The park in Mendoza pulls families and singles alike, is home to a large athletic building, and has a manmade lake and lovers' island. Big stretches of grass allow you to forget the cars and lay around; exactly what a park is meant to do.

My favorite part of Mendoza is that it has great access to the outdoors that surround the city. Whether you are a fly fisherman, a mountain climber, or are just looking for a nice escape to camp in your tent, within a couple of hours of Mendoza you’ll find what you are looking for. The Andes are right there!

If you are looking for work teaching English I’d daresay Mendoza is a better option than Buenos Aires. The English institutes needs teachers, and for that reason you’ll most likely get better paid.

Finally, if you are lucky enough to find a friend who has a backyard, or if you have access to any sort of grill, try and be an Argentine for an afternoon and partake in a real asado (Argentine bbq). The meat shops are plentiful in Mendoza and all you need to season the meat is parilla salt which is sold at any corner shop.