Porto to San Sebastian, May 6

Sud-Express train seat (8 berth compartment), Coach 21, seats 24 and 2


This was a reasonably expensive train journey (via Coimbra) that we needed to make to get to San Sebastian. (Some websites will tell you that there is a bus that makes this journey direct from Porto, however the Porto tourist office telephoned the local bus companies and were told that no such route existed as at May 6 2008 - as this route is mentioned on other websites, we suspect that it has been discontinued, or operates only part of the year.)
We went for seats instead of a sleeper because of the price, and a rash assumption that the seats would recline. They did not. We shared an 8 berth compartment with 2 others, who we dubbed Literary Spaniard and Swarthy Spaniard.
View: Variable
Cost per night: 59 euros each
Notable smells: feet
Recommended? No, only if you're desperate to get to San Sebastian overnight on a budget

Porto, May 4-5

Hotel Peninsular, room 212


Another day where we'd already tried a different establishment only to find that it was full, then decided to stay here because it has LOTS of rooms and we couldn't face carrying our backpacks any further. Rooms vary greatly, as do prices. Our room was smallish, clean, with poorly-laid laminate flooring. There was a telly.However, in real life, it looked much worse than this photo.
Bathroom: Private, reasonably clean, with a midget bath.
View: Light well, with air-conditioning extraction duct
Cost: Quoted cost 42 euros per night, actual cost after receptionist miscalculation 38
Recommended? Yes, but ask to see a number of rooms first