Chicago - Part 1

My first day in Chicago was a bit rough I must admit. After interviewing in Irvine, I red-eyed it into O'Hare, changed in the ER bathroom and was ready to rock and roll.

The first program on the Trail was Loyola. It's an awesome clinically oriented urology program in the suburbs of Chicago. Liked the program. That night, I met up with the University of Chicago residents. The guys were freaking awesome and I had a blast pounding it down with them in a dive bar on the southside. The next day I trekked out to U of C. I've gotta say it's the most fun I've had on an interview day. We broke out the putter and practiced putting as part of the interview. I loved their program and I left the interview day thinking I could be really happy in Chicago.

After the interview, I finally had some time to cut loose and enjoy the city. Hotwire hooked me up with rooms in the Swissotel on the first night and the Hyatt Regency on the days after. I had an awesome room with views overlooking the river.

It was good times from there on out. On my first night out the first place I headed to was a pizza joint called Giordano's. It's a Chicago pizza joint famous for serving up pizza pies. It was stuffed to the brim and less cheesy than the pizzas on the west coast. Unfortunately, I've gotta say that I still think Zachary's in Berkeley makes the best pizza pies.

After dinner, I took a stroll down the magnificent mile. I've gotta say, it's an amazing place if you like to shop. It's a mile lined with all the stores that you can think of. It's the closest thing to the Champs-elysees that I've seen in the states. Wides sidewalks for walking, people out late at night - to see and be seen. My impression of Chicago is that it's like a cleaner version of new york. There aren't as many neighborhoods and it's got a little less character, but it's a lot more liveable. You can own your own place, have a car, yet have access to great culture/diversity.



At the end of the magnificent mile, I stopped at the Hancock center. Got an amazing view from the 95th floor, toasted my good fortunes and called it a day.

-bender