Baton Rouge, LA

Recently, I took a trip to Okaloosa Island, Florida. Though our final destination was in Florida, we passed through some great places like Baton Rouge, LA. This was my very first time staying in Louisiana, and I had some very pleasant experiences. Some of those pleasant experiences included touring the 1,000-acre LSU campus, meeting Mike the Tiger (LSU's mascot), eating dinner at The Gregory, and picking up breakfast from Milford's on Third. Louisiana was not without its faults though. My two complaints were the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and the almost desolate city.

This summer, one of my primary concerns on my vacations was that I tour some big-name colleges. Fortunately for me I landed right in one of the biggest college towns in the south. The campus is beautiful with mammoth-sized oak trees and pristine light-green lawns. I enjoyed seeing that LSU offered a variety of majors with their own buildings.

It was especially important to me to see the Journalism building and where I would be spending most of my time working. It was really special for me when I saw the building and toured it.

We stopped to say hi to Mike the Tiger and he was not having it. Every time someone went up to the glass to take a picture with him, he would simply get up and walk away. The people would shuffle away in disappointment at the lack of photos they got with Mike, and he would go back to his spot right by the glass. So many people came up he ended up running back and forth. He definitely did not want to be disturbed by people and their stupid glass boxes that day.

I did not exactly have authentic Cajun food while I was in Baton Rouge, but the food was still great. I stayed at the Watermark that had a restaurant on the bottom floor named The Gregory. I ordered the white bean hummus for my appetizer. I LOVE hummus and would kill to have my own hummus brand, but this wasn't my jam. Maybe because it was gourmet, but let’s be honest. Nothing could ever compare with Sabra garlic hummus. For my entrée, I got the vault burger. Nothing really special about it, it was pretty good.

Not only did they have a wonderful restaurant they had a cute little shop filled with the sweetest treats and the savories snacks. They also had on-the-go breakfast, which makes it easy for anyone to pick up something to satisfy their hunger while they explore the city of Baton Rouge. I grabbed a plain bagel with cream cheese, and it was delicious. It definitely gave a cute café vibe in the morning and would recommend it.

I HATE heights, so having to cross a bridge that goes on for almost 20 miles was news to me. Safe to say that the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is easily the scariest bridge I have ever crossed. It is the strangest thing to me because why did architects just decide that building a bridge in the middle of Louisiana swamps was a good idea. I am definitely not a fan. Although I despise that bridge with my whole being, it was interesting to go through a swamp on a bridge.

Baton Rouge was an empty city. I expected masses of people for some reason. My Downton is insane busy all the time no matter what day. Another deciding factor for me and picking a university is the city. I love big, gigantic cities. Big cities offer the hustle and bustle, big opportunities, and all kinds of different people. Settling in some small town in the south gives me MAJOR anxiety. I will always love the south for its homey feel, but I definitely want to expand my horizons in college and explore new places.

If you have made it this far thank you for reading. Overall, Baton Rouge is not for me, but it is a cute city for someone who wants to have a mix of rural and urban.