The Sofitel San Francisco Bay

This was the first time I have stayed at one of Sofitel's hotel. Distinctively European, the hotel has a very airy and spacious feel to it. The feeling continues as you enter the room; the pastel shades, floral curtains, and European styled furnishings are a pleasant change.

The hotel also has a fairly good French restaurant and a bar in the lobby level, both of which overlook the large lagoons. I found the breakfast here particularly good; the breads, croissants and pancakes were very fresh and better than those I find in most other hotels. Also the seafood pasta I ordered for lunch after checking-in was good too.

The weather in California has been unusually cold and apparently the state will lose almost 75% of its citrus fruit this year. Until the weekend, I was busy with my business meetings and team dinners all of which were held in the same hotel, so I didn't venture out at all.

Finally, I went out with some friends to the Straits restaurant yesterday which features Singaporean food; while the food was good, the highlight was the excellent mango mousse we had for desserts. Today, we had lunch in a Thai place called Erawan; the Thai fried calamari and Spicy Basil Fried Rice were pretty good. I also discovered Thai style iced coffee in which they use coconut milk to give it that unique taste.

I catch my Lufthansa flight tomorrow to begin my journey back to Pune, this time over the Atlantic.