It was really hard to leave home after Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating and get back on the road, but the "show must go on." My next stop was a return trip to San Francisco. It almost felt like coming home after already being there once since I had my "clipper card" (the metro transit card, like the Orca card for people back in Seattle) in my hand and I already loaded it up with all I would need for my transit around town. I flew into Oakland airport and hopped on the Bart over to San Francisco.
It was dusk by the time I arrived but, because the sun sets so early these days, I still had plenty of time to drop off my bags before heading off to the pre-interview dinner. It felt sort of like a fairy tale walking up to this row house and realizing that it was the same house as the address I had written down--real people don't live here! It's only in the movies right? I mean the cable car literally runs right outside the front door!
I was up on the third floor in the home of a friend Varvara's (you've heard me talk about her before...she's my classmate also going into ob/gyn). I'm sure I disturbed everyone's dinners as I climbed up the stairs with my bag that yes, is technically a carrry on, but is officially weighing in at 30 pounds --see I have proof:
I was winded at the top because I'm so out of shape from all this traveling and SITTING on airplanes but was thrilled to reach my room right in front of the bay window over looking the city. 
I enjoyed some AMAZING thai food at the dinner that evening--althought don't get it twisted, I'm still partial to the restaurant called "amazing thai" in Seattle. I used Lyft for the first time this trip too, which meant I had some free ride credits for getting set up the first time--yay for cheap transit! I couldn't believe my view when I woke up the morning of my interview
After the interview a few of the applicants and me felt in the mood for a treat, so, with the assistance of the local San Fran students, we walked over to this ice cream shop. It is (sort of) like molly moons with no-traditional flavors. My choice: secret breakfast which was a vanilla based ice cream with bourbon and corn flakes. Sounds odd but it was divine (and it happens to be one of their specialty flavors that I think they always have on hand, so if you get a chance to go, check it out!)
I parted ways with teh applicants and was off to walk/explore on my way home. I got hungry for dinner adn stopped in at this little place called Sweet Woodruff's who, according to Yelp, were famous for their grilled cheese sandwiches. It was Muenster and Provolone with home-made tomato soup, yum!
Then, as you likely saw on facebook, I happened upon Grace cathedral which I thought was stunning and wanted to go inside. 
There were all of these people with yoga mats heading toward the church, and I was intrigued and I joined the crowd of yogi's entering the church to find that this was an open-to-the-public yoga class on the floor of the snacutary with over 700 PEOPLE filling the cathedral on their mats. A volunteer showed me the ropes and asked "so, do you want to do some yoga?" I looked down at my suit and heels and said, "I'm in a suit for goodness sake, I can't do that!" to which the volunteer responded, "It's San Francisco, I've seen people do yoga in much more strange outfits than that!"
After that, I felt a love of the trail in this love/hate relationship I have with it! And it just got better when I got home adn had a wonderful evening of conversation over a cup of tea with Dimitri, my host. Plus, he showed me an even more amazing feature of his apartment, the rooftop deck! Sunrise was breathtaking up there. 
Pardon my "I just wok up face" in this selfie
You could see everything in San Francisco except the Golden Gate bridge. Here's Alcatraz in the distance
My flight left in the afternoon so I had more time for exploring in the morning and I set off on foot towards Fort mason for some more amazing views
Last but not least on my "hike" back up to the house, I stopped by Lombard street and got my share of shameless touristy photos and selfies
With that, I was off to the airport to get my life organized and was again excited to find a work space and a Peet's coffee employee that gave me a free cup of hot water for my tea bag. 
I landed in Chicago after watching the sunset at 10,000 feet
I was greeted by Christmas lights and the most wonderful couple, Ken and Gail Kramer who are my hosts for this trip. They provided a lovely meal, wonderful room and so much hospitality for me as I prep for the next interview. Tonight, I'm off to another dinner and then I interview tomorrow before catching a flight to Pittsburgh.
That's what packing for cold weather and 4 interviews does folks! Anyway, check out this stairwell!
I enjoyed a nice cup of tea and some oatmeal as I soaked it all in and prepped for the big day ahead of me
So, I learned that my suit was an even better investement than I thought because it was comfortable enough to do yoga in! And the best part about it? They had live musicians playing relaxing harp and guitar melodies through the whole class! I took a video but they never load right, so just imagine the echoing sound of a gorgeous chorus of instruments and vocalists. The class ended at the top of the hour so while we were relaxing in corpse pose (yogi's know how amazing this part of a session is) we were slowly brought back to consciousness with the ringing of the church bells in the tower. By far, one of the coolest spontaneous experiences of my life!
and wouldn't you know it, I stumbled upon another community garden! This onen was absolutely breathtaking.
I had to scope out the chances of me getting a spot here if I were to match in San Francisco and I was not surprised that there was a waitlist, but I was surprised at the length--can you read it?
It says "the waiting period is approximately eight years"! And I thought med school and residency were long! But I could see why it was sought after. Truly an oasis in the city
Sorry for all of the typos in this post, I'm just trying to keep up with all of my adventures and document them before the memory fades or gets confused with all these back to back trips!
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