How do I connect to an L2TP IPSec VPN in Ubuntu 16.04?

Question

I have a clean install of Ubuntu 16.04

Linux hp 4.4.0-28-generic #47-Ubuntu SMP Fri Jun 24 10:09:13 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Did an apt-get update and apt-get dist-upgrade

I also ran:

apt-get install racoon ipsec-tools

Because as I understand it, racoon with it's changes to the linux kernel for IPsec is needed.

I realize there are lots of options to get my linux machine to connect to this VPN including Openswan, and using a different network manager than the default Ubuntu 16.04 comes with, but I've tried everything. I need something that works and I can't find any how-to guides for step 1, step 2, etc.

I have a valid username and password for the VPN and a shared secret. I can connect to it just fine from a mac.

Any advise on how to get this Ubuntu machine talking to this VPN? Thanks!