Living Life in the 3rd Happiest City in America.

If y'all haven't already heard, the top five happiest cities in America are all located in one state - Louisiana. Of those five cities, Shreveport/Bossier City is #3! I'm not going to lie, I was a bit surprised. No one even knows where Shreveport is, and the other four cities, aside from Baton Rouge, are even less heard of than Shreveport. In case this is news to you, here's a little video to enlighten you. 

So what did we do to lock in the #3 spot on the list? Beats me, but I have a few theories.
WE LOVE LOVE. It's almost impossible to go anywhere in Shreveport/Bossier City without seeing at least one couple holding hands. I don't know if there's something in the water here, but people tend to find the love of their lives early here. Marrying your high school sweetheart is not uncommon. Falling in love younger means being in love and being with the love of your life longer. Love = happiness.

3 years and counting with this guy.

WE LOVE TO EAT. Let's be honest. There's no shortage of good food in Louisiana. We love to eat, and we love flavor! If it doesn't have flavor, then we throw some Tony's on it. And we don't have to eat fancy. The best food is from the hole in the wall restaurants like Marilynn's Place and What's Up Diner?. And of course, crawfish! 
WE LOVE OUR ALCOHOL.  Shreveport/Bossier City is all about happy hours, drink specials and 2-for-1 deals. No, we're not all a bunch of drunks running around making poor decisions, but some SBC natives do like to let loose and have fun seven days a week. 

Thursdays are fill up your cup for a buck at Strange Brew.

WE LOVE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME.  It doesn't matter where we are, we just love to have fun. We don't need an excuse to celebrate apart from simply being alive. Every day's a holiday.
WE LOVE OUR CITY. Some people don't know anything about Louisiana, and the ones that do say one of four things to me: 1) alligators, 2) New Orleans, 3) Mardi Gras or 4) the Saints. Regardless, we don't feel the need to be known by the world to love Shreveport/Bossier City. Even though I'm not originally from Louisiana, I've made some great memories here, and whenever I go anywhere, I'm proud to represent good ole Shreveport. 

So cheers to the third happiest city in the best country in the world! #merica

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There's No Place Like Rome.

Out of all the cities I visited on my trip with EF College Break, Rome was my absolute favorite! I just felt happy there all time. The food was always good. The people were always friendly. I could have stayed in Rome for so much longer. I never wanted to leave!
The big things we did were visiting the Colosseum and the Vatican. I'll be blogging about those adventures next week. Trust me when I say there was never a dull moment in Rome. 
The first thing we did after we got off the bus at our hotel (this was after the hour-ish long plane ride) was get pizza with our roommates. It was just a walk down the road, which is really convenient. It was midnight, and we were starving. Our margherita pizza was divine!

Our hotel key. Oh you fancy, huh?

One night during our trip, we went to an opera meal. It was a really cool experience. It wasn't an opera show, but it was people singing opera songs all around us while we ate. It was hilarious and so fun. The food was just okay though, sadly. After the opera meal, we bumped into the Summer Coca-Cola Festival. It was packed and so cool! We didn't understand anything they were saying or singing, but I mean, how many people can say they went to something like that in Rome?! 

A few places we visited in Rome were the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain (though it was under construction, so we didn't even get to throw a coin in! Boo!), and the Spanish Steps.

We threw coins in the fountain in front of the Pantheon since the Trevi Fountain failed us.

The Trevi Fountain. Sigh.

Standing on the Spanish Steps, which were made by the French in Italy.

Wandering the streets of Rome. Everything was beautiful.

Pizza everyday. 

Trastevere

Dinner on the street

Literally the best pasta I've ever eaten. I accidentally ate some before taking a picture.

I don't know what the restaurant was called where we had our farewell dinner, but it was really cute. The servers were really nice, and the food was delicious. Adam, our tour director, said a mini speech and gave out some Billy Bob Awards. It was definitely a laugh. 

Bruschetta. I don't even like tomatoes, but I ate all of this.

This pasta was so good. It had a hint of orange flavor.

My first time eating veal.

More tiramisu.

I don't know what this was called, but it was so good! It was from a place called Forno Pane & Dolci, a little bakery we stopped by on the way to the farewell dinner.

This little cannoli was full of cherries and disappointment. I've definitely had better. It was also from Forno Pane & Dolci. 

The last day was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. We traveled about 30-45 minutes to go to the beach in Santa Marinella. It was so beautiful. 
We had lunch at Molo 21, and there were only a few other people there, so it was like our own little oasis. We could step from the restaurant out into the sea. I decided that my happy place is definitely by the Mediterranean Sea. I just felt relaxed and blissful. It was the perfect last day.

Easily the best thing I ate my whole trip. These mussels from Molo 21 were so good! I wanted more.

If I ever go back to Europe (which I really hope I do!), I definitely want to take a detour back to Roma! I loved everything about that city. 

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The Lyrics to "Summer Girls" Don't Actually Make Sense.

Unless you a) live under or a rock, b) hate awesome music, or c) have no soul, then you are obviously obsessed with have heard of "Summer Girls" by LFO. It's one of my favorite songs to listen to on road trips and when it's April and summer is upon us. 
This song came up on the radio the other day. One of our local radio stations, K94.5, does this thing called "Back in the Day Buffet," where they play a solid hour of throwback songs. It really is the best thing any radio station could have done for Shreveport. It's the best, but I digress. "Summer Girls" by LFO came on, and as I was singing along, I realized that nothing that I was saying made sense. Granted, I knew that before, but that was before I had a blog.
Please watch while or before reading, in case you need a refresher:

Yeah...I like it when the girls stop by.. In the summer
Do you remember, Do you remember?
...when we met..That summer??
Song premise. We can pretty much figure out from this seductive introduction that he is going to be singing about a girl that he met in the summer that he's clearly still lusting after. 

[Chorus:]
New Kids On the Block had a bunch of hits. That's wonderful to know, and it's so true, but why put it in the song? Is it because you listened to NKOTB together? Total confusion from the get-go. We've already deterred from the subject at hand. Chinese food makes me sick. That's a shame, because Chinese food is actually really delicious. And after typing that I kind of want some. But why is it the second line in the chorus? Did y'all eat Chinese food together, and it made you sick?  And I think it's fly when girls stop by for the summer, For the summer. Alright! We're back on track with talking about liking girls that stop by in the summer. Where "there" is is a mystery. If I would have known where "there" was, I would have totally stopped by since he liked it so much. Granted, I was only 15 when this song came out, so that would have been inappropriate.
I like girls that wear Abercrombie and Fitch. Confusion again, because it seems that he's lumping all of these girls together. Is this song supposed to make this girl feel special? Because you sound a little thirsty to me. Just sayin.
I'd take her if I had one wish, Yes! Back on track again. Talking about one girl.
But she's been gone since that summer, Since that summer. I'm guessing she's the one that got away, so you wrote this song for her and found inspiration in the strangest of places, starting with NKOTB, Chinese food, and A&F. It kinda gets a little weird from here.

[Verse 1:]
Hip Hop Marmalade spic and span, Ooookay. I don't even know what that means. Moving on.
Met you one summer and it all began.
You're the best girl that I ever did see, Awww. So sweet. He met you, you were the best girl, and now he's going to sing sweet things about you!
The great Larry Bird Jersey 33. Just kidding. Why are you interrupting this love song with a basketball reference?
When you take a sip you buzz like a hornet. Is that supposed to be a compliment?
Billy Shakespeare wrote a whole bunch of sonnets. Well, that's wonderful. And duh. But did you read them to her or did you need a slant rhyme with "hornet?" If it's the latter, you probably should have just rewritten both lines. 
Call me Willy Whistle cause I can't speak baby.
Something in your eyes went and drove me crazy. I had to Google who Willie Whistle was, and even so, I didn't read much on it. I'm guessing this freaking scary as crap clown had trouble speaking. And LFO is saying that looking into this girl's eyes made him speechless? Yeah. We'll just go with that.
Now I can't forget you and it makes me mad.
Left one day and never came back.
Stayed all summer then went back home. That's cold girl. I mean, Rich from LFO was flirting with you, and you just flew home and forgot about him? Don't interrupt. Rude.
Macaulay Culkin wasn't Home Alone. He sure was! But is now really the time to mention it? You were just talking about how upset you were that she left you. Is that because Macaulay was left alone too? Are you trying to relate to him?
Fell deep in love, but now we ain't speaking. So not only did she abandon the guy, she just stopped speaking to him altogether? Haven't you heard of Facebook?! Oh wait...this was 1999. Did they have AIM back then?
Michael J Fox was Alex P. Keaton. Ooookay. A reference to Michael J. Fox's character in Family Ties, but can we get back to our regularly scheduled program here?
When I met you I said my name was Rich.
You look like a girl from Abercrombie and Fitch. Alright! The first A&F reference makes sense now.

[Chorus:]
New Kids On the Block had a bunch of hits.
Chinese food makes me sick.
And I think it's fly when girls stop by for the summer, For the summer.
I like girls that wear Abercrombie and Fitch.
I'd take her if I had one wish.
But she's been gone since that summer,
Since that summer. We already went through this, so moving on...

[Verse 2:]
Cherry Pez, Cold Crush, Rock Star Boogie. My guess is that he ate cherry Pez while listening to Cold Crush and Rock Star Boogie. The answer is yes, I did have to look up what both Cold Crush and Rock Star Boogie were. Maybe they ate Cherry Pez while listening to them. Why else would it be in the song?
Used to hate school so I had to play hookie. Admitting that in a song probably isn't the best idea. I got ISS once for skipping class in middle school. Sorry I was such a rebel. *brushes shoulder off* Do people still do that?
Always been hip to the B Boy Style.
Known to act wild and make girls smile. And write songs for girls that only makes references to them every 12 or so lines...
Love New Edition and the Candy Girl.
Remind me of you because you rock my world.
You come from Georgia where the peaches grow.
They drink lemonade and speak real slow.
You love hip hop and rock n roll.
Dad took off when you were 4 years old. Well lookie there. Six solid lines together talking about the girl. Great idea bringing up her dad's abandonment, by the way.
There was a good man named Paul Revere. Obviously relevant. 
I feel much better, baby, when you're near.
You love fun dip and Cherry Coke.
I like the way you laugh when I tell a joke. Three more lines actually talking about her. Granted, you were talking about yourself too, but we'll just put that aside. Gotta take what you can get.
When I met you I said my name was Rich.
You look like a girl from Abercrombie and Fitch.

[Repeat Chorus]

[Bridge:]
In the summertime, girls got it going on,
Shake and wiggle to a hip hop song
Summertime girls are the kind I like, If I were the girl who he was singing this song to, I would ask myself "Is this song for me or all of the girls in America? Because that second line makes him sound like one of those creepers at the club just observing all the girls "shaking" and "wiggling," rather than just watching her "shake" and "wiggle."
I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike. Well, that's classy. How do you have friends? Do you even have friends after stealing people's women and their bikes? That's assuming you're referring to women when you say "honey." You could be talking about actual honey, in which case, you and Winnie the Pooh should totally hang.

[Verse 3]
Boogaloo Shrimp and Pogo sticks. Note: "Boogaloo shrimp" is a reference to a person, not actual shrimp. #thingsyoulearnfromLFOsongs
My mind takes me back there oh so quick. Back where? Too Boogaloo Shrimp? Did y'all meet? Or did you watch Boogaloo in a movie together? I'm not following.
Let you off the hook like my man Mr. Limpet. I've never seen The Incredible Mr. Limpet, but in the movie poster, there is a picture of a silly looking guy staring at a fish, so I'm guessing this is a fishing reference, in which case, that line is pretty clever. 
Think about that summer and I bug, cause I miss it. What part of the summer do you miss? Are you talking about the girl again? Did you do all of the aforementioned things in this verse with the girl, or are you just thinking about the summer in the midst of all these other things going on in your head.
Like the color purple, macaroni and cheese,
Ruby red slippers and a bunch of trees. Are these things that she likes or nah?
Call you up, but what's the use? You're freaking kidding me! You had her number the whole time and you haven't had the nerve to call her up after all this time? And instead you've been wasting your time writing songs about Pogo sticks and hating Chinese food?! 
I like Kevin Bacon, but I hate Footloose. Umm...Footloose was a great movie. Though I prefer the remake. #irrelevant 
Came in the door.  I said it before,  I think I'm over you,
but I'm really not sure. I'm pretty sure you're over her. You can keep talking about watching other girls "shake" and "wiggle," and you've barely even referenced her in the song. You mind has been wandering all over the place, and we just found out that you had her number this whole time, and you haven't even called her because you think it's useless. You've got to move on, man.
When I met you I said my name was Rich.
You look like a girl from Abercrombie and Fitch.

[Repeat Chorus]

[Bridge:]
In the summer girls come and summer girls go
Some are worth while and some are so so,
Well...that's nice of you to say. Clearly, you wasted your time pining on the wrong girl since you refuse to call her, and you can't even write a song that's just about her. I'm hoping that you found some other worthwhile ones. Summer girls come and summer girls go
Some are worth while and some are so so,
Summertime girls got it going on.
Shake and wiggle to a hip hop song. Again with the wiggling. Summertime girls are the kind I like.
I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike.

[Repeat Chorus]
Please note that that's all in good fun, because I'm actually obsessed with the song and have been faithfully listening to it several times a year for the past ten years.
Do you love this song too?

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Meet my new friend, Adriana!
I just recently discovered Adriana's blog, and trust me when I say you should check her out! She's absolutely adorable, hilarious and so much fun! In addition to blogging, she also has an awesome YouTube channel, and you should definitely check that out too!

My name is Adriana Renee and I am currently a California, college student majoring in journalism. My blog is named Alaska Renee, after my favorite character of "Looking for Alaska," and it has become sort of like a pseudonym name. My blog is mostly focused on lifestyle with features on fashion and entertainment.

What song are you currently obsessed with?

I'm currently obsessed with the song "Ribs" by Lorde. It's funny because I absolutely hated it at first, but lyrics at the bridge of the song made me love it. I have to admit that Lorde has become a guilty pleasure.

If you were stranded on a desert island, who would you want with you?

May sound a bit cliche, but I would want my family with me because I can last a 24+ car ride with them, they will be able to keep me sane in the middle of nowhere. 

Name 3 things that make you happy.

3 things that make me happy: books, listening to the perfect song at the perfect time, kind of like the whole tunnel song thing in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," and of course, blogging! 

For more from Adriana, click the links below!

Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

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Like a Postcard from Paris.

Paris is such a beautiful city to visit during the summer. There's so much life and no shortage of things to do. Well...during the day anyway. The nightlife in Paris wasn't as hoppin' as it was in London, but there were still so many things to do and so many new experiences to have. 
Before we went into the Eiffel Tower the first day, we took a cruise on the Seine River. It sprinkled a bit, but it was an amazing way to experience Paris.

Our bus tour wasn't as exciting as London, mainly because our tour guide was a bit difficult to understand. Her accent was super thick. I loved the parts where we got to walk around and explore. Paris is seriously such a beautiful city. 

And it's super important to see the Eiffel Tower as many times as possible. During the day. At night. Sunrise. Sunset. Just see it as much as you can, because it's so so beautiful.

Harder than it looks...

One of the optional excursions from the suggestions that our tour director, Adam, put together was a bistro meal in the Parisian Latin Quarter. It's impossible for me to describe just how amazing everything about this night was. 
It started with a detour to Luxembourg Gardens. It was straight out of Passport to Paris (you know that part where the girls change the itinerary so they can get their grandpa's assistant to meet the model they met at lunch. Just a typical day). It was so beautiful.

We also saw this statue and had to stop to take some classy pictures.

The dinner was at Au Bistrot de la Montagne. I wish I could describe the full experience, but it's impossible to understand the true amazingness of the night without having actually experienced it yourself. But I'll still try.

We and another EF group had the restaurant to ourselves. It was great because we were all around the same age and there was unlimited wine at our tables. I can't say that the wine was amazing, but after the first glass, it started to taste pretty good. When we got there, there was actually a blush French wine on the table, and that was so delicious. Unfortunately, it wasn't an option for the unlimited wine. 

After we all took our orders, there were two men who started playing music, one played the accordion and the other, guitar. This was the first time I really felt like I was a having a genuine French meal. The music sounded like the guy singing to the dogs in Lady and the Tramp (thinking about it now, does anyone else not think it's super weird for a guy to be singing to two dogs??). At first, the songs were unrecognizable, but then they started doing covers of songs that were popular in the states. We're talking "I Got a Feelin'" by the Black-Eyed Peas and "Wonderwall" by Oasis. For some reason, we were really pumped when they started playing "Feliz Navidad." There really is no explanation. Probably all of the wine.

The overall feel and vibe of the room was electric. I wanted to stay there forever. Not only that, but the food was so good! I had escargot. Yeah, snails. I had had it before, but for some reason, I assumed they would be better in Paris, and they were! Oh my goodness. So delicious. For dinner, I had salmon and rice, and for dessert, an apple tart. All very good. My sister had French onion soup for her appetizer, and that was indescribably good. I could eat that soup every day of my life, and every sip of it would always be good. I wish I could relive that night for real. It was just unforgettable.

We also visited the Louvre. That's after we walked through Champ Elysees and took a tour of a perfume factory. We got lost finding the Mona Lisa, and rested our feet on a bench in this little tranquil area with gorgeous artwork.

After the Louvre, we went to the Love Lock Bridge, and sister and I put our locks on the bridge and threw in the key! It was all very romantic. Sister and I made a sister lock. #sistersforever I also made a lock for Jon and me. 

After guaranteeing Jon and my eternal love, we got caught in the rain. It felt like Midnight in Paris (how many movie references can I make in one post?). 
"Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain?" 
I didn't have to picture it. I lived it. It was actually quite exciting to be stuck under a bridge in the middle of Paris, aside from the fact that it smelled like pee, and I wore shorts that day.

While we didn't get to go into the Notre Dame (sorry, Quasimodo. Movie reference count: 4), we did get to see the outside, so that counts. Dripping with rain, a small group of us did some shopping in the outdoor markets and grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at Cafe le Petit Pont.

During our last day in Paris, almost our entire group went to visit the Catacombs. While it wasn't worth the three hours we stood in line for it, it was still a really cool experience. The way that all of the bones were artfully laid out was incredible. It was also pretty creepy down there. No escape. 

After seeing all of the carefully laid human bones, we ate some lunch at Paul's. I had a sandwich with unknown meat on it, and some sort of fruit-filled pastry for dessert. So good. 

Have you ever been to Paris? 

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