I am hoping on an airplane on Thursday to fly to Madrid. I am spending Thanksgiving weekend with my friend D. And truthfully I couldn't be happier. I've never been to Spain and I am looking forward to seeing both friend and the city.

D. has to work on Thursday and Friday so that means the city is mine to explore while he's at work. Then on Saturday we're going on a whirl-wind day trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamanca" target="_blank">Salamanca</a>.

I've already got a few things on my to-do list:
<ul>
	<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_del_Prado" target="_blank">Museo del Prado </a>a giant museum and outstanding art gallery in one</li>
	<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Thyssen-Bornemisza" target="_blank">Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza</a> and yet another great art gallery</li>
	<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palace_of_Madrid" target="_blank">Palacio Real de Madrid</a> otherwise known as the Royal Palace</li>
</ul>
But I got such great responses to my post about <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2010/05/20/paris-without-guidebooks/" target="_blank">Paris without Guidebooks</a> last spring, I figured I'd see if anyone had additional suggestions.

Once again, I am not necessarily looking for super-touristy things to do (even  through, I am going to be doing those things).  Do you have a favorite  neighborhood? a cafe? a bookstore? or a museum that’s tucked away and  totally worth seeking out?