Be Aware That Museums/Art Galleries Close Mondays

[Gareth Griffith]

One question that ofter comes up is "what advise would you give to a new pilgrim?" The answer I give is to look up how to avoid blisters and take care of your feet. The other bit of advice I would give is to remember that a lot of the interesting places that you would like to visit are closed on a Monday. I wanted to visit a Monastry that was highlighted in in the Brierley Guide. I walked passed it, turned round and walked passed it again. I stopped some passing Spaniards and they kindly lead me to where I should turn off. I got to the monastry ticket office and a lady poked her head out and said "cerrado" I looked at my watch and then at the opening hours on the wall. "Lunes" she said. I left the place kicking myself for my stupidity. I'd covered several additional kilometers for no benefit whatsoever, and the place looked very interesting from the outside.
I would try and avoid hitting large towns where there may be several places that you'd like to visit but are most probably going to be closed if you turn up on Monday.