Irony! Just when we vouched for the safety of travelers in Madrid last week with our "Bad Rap Cities: Madrid" story, a high-profile woman fell victim over the weekend to the city's thieves who prey on tourists.

It all went down on yesterday evening in front of the Thyssen Museum in Madrid, when beloved fashion designer, contemporary of Andy Warhol, and legend in her own right Diane von Furstenberg twittered:

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: Madrid

Why Go?
Just like Barcelona, Madrid has a rep for being a Thieves Paradise. Many post-trip reviews are peppered with tales of pickpockets roaming the streets in droves, armed with purse-cutting knives. Add to that the declarations that local men are lecherous louts, and female travelers become skittish about visiting alone. But forget the fear mongerers rantings and head to this beautiful city that is chock full of impressive art, delectable cuisine and is a nightowl’s dream.

You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.

Things to see in Madrid: see a game at Bernabeu Stadium.

If you find yourself wandering the streets of Madrid this summer, stumbling upon some culture should be even easier than usual.

June 25 marked the start of the city’s 24th annual Veranos de la Villa—Summer in the City—60 days of music, dance, and theatre held throughout the city’s squares and plazas (and in some inside theaters and concert halls too).

The festival is a time when Madrid comes out to celebrate its international flair, so expect less Spanish guitar and flamenco dancing in favor of more pop music and breakdancing. The eclectic lineup includes everyone from Cuban hip-hoppers Orishas to ballet impresario Mikhail Baryshnikov, and funk legends Kool in the Gang, along with a slew of free events throughout the festival, which runs through August 23.

Related Stories:
· Verano de la Villa [Official Site]
· Madrid summer festival features star-studded lineup [Travel Weekly]
· US Airways Begs You To Go To Europe This Summer [Jaunted]

[Photo: museu reina sofia]

US Airways knows what you did last summer: Sat around bemoaning the soaring euro and toiled with the idea of going to Toronto just to be able to say you left the country. (No offense, Canada.) 2009, you vowed, would be different.

After enticing us with fare sales to the UK, Sully's favorite airline has widened the net to include other destinations like Dublin and Madrid. Eat your frites in Brussels or, and this has us intrigued, get 5,000 miles with your trip from Philly to Oslo. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some currency to change.

Related Stories:
· Five Airfare Sales To Get You Out of the Staycation Doldrums [Jaunted]
· US Airways Sale to UK: It Rules [Jaunted]
· Travel Deals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: travelstar]

Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal check out Madrid's Museo Nacional del Prado, a major tourist draw that locals actually visit sometimes. Reese and Jake, in town for her promotional tour for "Monsters versus Aliens," weren't even the highest profile visitors this week: German president Horst Kohler got his own private tour from Crown Prince Felipe yesterday.

Can't make it to Madrid to check out the best of national masters like Goya? You can now visit the museum on Google Earth, and even zoom in on selected works up to fantastic detail. Still, we have to insist that there's nothing like the real thing.

Related Stories:
· German President visits Madrid [Earthtimes.org]
· Fall Culture Travel: We <3 Goya [Jaunted]
· Prado Museum to be featured on Google Earth [Examiner]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: JustJared]

Losing a memory card at the end of the trip can be tragic. But what if you plan to leave it behind on purpose? The Photochaining project encourages photographers to willingly leave behind cheap cards for others to find and add to. It's like Where's George, but for pictures!

Currently there are 16 memory cards out there, some with people names (Ben, Lola) and others with themes (Gimme, Love, Landscape). Most of them have only been found once in places from Madrid (where a card with the above photo was from) to San Francisco. As much as we like to hang onto our cards, this could work as long as people remember to let their findings go. Yours could be next!

Related Stories:
· Leaving Camera Memory Cards in Public Places! [Photochaining.com]
· O'Hare Airport Stars in Chicago Photography Exhibition [Jaunted]
· TravelMuse Wants Your Vacation Snaps [Jaunted]

[Photo: "Anna" memory card]

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero accidentally became an international YouTube star this week when he cursed out a fellow world leader at a press conference. Surely he didn't say that Russia's Dmitri Medvedev and him needed to make their countries very intimate together, right?

Zapatero will be in a tight spot until the country can get over his gaffe, but travelers through Madrid-Barajas International Airport have no need to worry about getting caught out: The terminal wireless furnished by Kubi is so organized, the company even lists all the hot spots so you can find out before you go what restaurant or lounge to park yourself in.

Kubi is the leading provider of wireless Internet in Spain, and if this fanatical organization characterizes all their ventures, we will soon be getting very intimate with their services. (Uh, not like that.)

We promise not to put it on YouTube if you send us a tip on some international WiFi.

Related Stories:
· Medvedev Zapatero news conference [YouTube]
· Find a Hotspot - Madrid-Barajas [KubiWireless.com]
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]

You know how in Europe various attractions and monuments give discounts to holders of European passports? Kind of annoying, isn’t it? Well finally, flashing your U.S. passport will get you something other than a dirty look.

Time’s got the scoop on the ME Madrid Reina Victoria, where an American passport gets you 20 percent off room rates when you book at least three nights, plus a bottle of cava and strawberries en suite, free breakfast, and 50 percent off dinner for two at the hotel’s Midnight Rose restaurant.

Rates start at about $240, and the offer is good through March, which might not be warm enough to take advantage of The Penthouse, the hotel’s Rande-and-Scott-Gerber-helmed

It looks like hotels' obsession with books will definitely continue in 2009. The latest is from the Gran Hotel Conde Duque, a hotel in downtown Madrid, which has started a library out of guests’ left-behind books--a collection that has turned out to be so diverse it includes Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons and a Spanish translation of the Book of Mormon. (How’s that for some light vacation reading?)

The fact that this hotel is starting an orphaned books club definitely makes up for their lack of stylish room decor. Check out that bedspread and headboard, eee!