talking local bars not tourist places, friend used to stay a winter and drink with the fishermen, he spoke some of the language and always was charged more than the locals
If you don't want to do border bounce which is a organised and done in a day, you could pay a visit to a neighbouring country for a few days break. My friend comes for the winter and always does this, flights are not expensive.
DTV cookery classes cost more than trip for a week, plus alot of paperwork for the application