The Fabulous Flavien

If you take the Metro Ligne 4 to "Odeon" and exit direction "Carrefour de Odeon" you will arrive above ground and be immediately greeted by an air of excitement and activity. College students mill about in groups smoking cigarettes, practicing being cool as they regard the opposite sex casually (or not) and run their fingers through deliberately messy hair. Others are on their cellphones waiting for a date who is running late, and guys with nothing to do lounge on the base of a statue of Danton and bum cigarettes from passers by. There is a man cooking hot crepes and a line of tourists waiting to eat them. The sound of laughter and animated conversation fills the air with the anticipation of a night of fun and uninhibited partying, for this is the "Quartier Latin" (kat-e-ay la-tan), home of night clubs and boutique hotels, interesting shopping and horrible tourist trap restaurants. It was this place, and the metro that would take me back to my vacation rental in the 15th that I was attempting to find as I wandered the streets in exhausted confusion one night about 5 years ago. I had just separated from my husband after nearly 28 years of marraige and decided to take a trip to Paris for a couple of months. I was in the middle of a major nuclear meltdown, and spent many days just wandering the streets aimlessly. I didn't know Paris at all then (in fact I still find myself lost on a regular basis) but I was tired, my feet ached, the sun had set and it was getting cold. I had wandered across the river to the Notre Dame Cathedral then back to the left bank and its maze of narrow crowded streets. I knew there was a metro somewhere nearby, I just couldn't find it! Every turn I took led me deeper inside the labyrinth of drunken college boys, thousands of satchels and tee shirts emblazoned with the image of le Tour d'Eiffel and PARIS, Lebanese fast food and gyros galore! I turned a critical corner and found myself on a slightly more civilized street, filled with art galleries and little clothing boutiques. The streets were wider and cars passed by, unlike the pedestrian streets I had been navigating. This was a good sign, my instincts told me I was headed in the right direction. Suddenly, to my left a door opened. The sound that poured from the doorway stopped me in my tracks! It was the music of the most beautiful piano imaginable, accompanied by the rythym of a contrebasse. My desire to head home vanished as I was seduced by the music of Pan himself, and I entered thus into the magical world of the Café Laurent. Elegant yet cosy, french yet welcoming, the Café Laurent is located on the ground floor of the Hotel d'Aubausson on Rue Dauphine. Formerly home of the famous jazz cave "Tabou" it was frequented by such luminaries as Jean-Paul Sarte and Brigitte Bardot. Three nights a week, from thursday to saturday, you can listen to the talented and always cool Christian Brenner Trio while enjoying an expertly mixed coctail from the bar. That night I was having my favorite drink, a champagne coctail. It was served by the most fabulous man to ever work a room, his name: Flavien. Flavien is elegant, poised, and immaculately groomed. Well dressed at all times, he appears cool in his suit and tie even in the oppressive heat of summer. He is beautiful to observe as he glides around the floor like a panther, his tray laden with drinks appears to weigh nothing at all. He is the perfect host, welcoming you as an old friend, taking your coat, making a joke. He is also strict, if you dare to choose a seat yourself you will surely be moved. It's Flavien's room, and he choreographs the seating with the precision of a Bob Fosse dance. To his credit, he seems to have an instinct for who should be seated where, and I have met many interesting people as a result of his innate talent as a host. Everyone should have someone like Flavien in their life. He fawns over you when you look fabulous, he dances with you like Fred Astaire spontaneously, and he cuts you off when he sees that you are on the way to drink and dial land. He is the heart and soul of the Café Laurent, and when he is away on vacation things just aren't the same! If you are ever in Paris you MUST visit the Café Laurent and Fabulous Flavien.... to see more of Flavien in action and a virtual visit to the CL, go to http://www.christianbrennerjazz.com/ rubric: videos, then click on "le Café Laurent".