Laurent is one of the favorites of our editorial office and you can often spot him in Kapana, walking the streets in a hurry, or discussing business issues with regular visitors in front of the Cat and Mouse bar. He is a native of Belgium, before the pandemic, he often fled for a month or two to exotic destinations such as Bali and Thailand, but apparently Plovdiv remains in his heart, as he always returns here. Most of the workers and visitors of Kapana know him and we all really enjoy his sense of humor and his position on various issues - from work, through politics, even to love.
And here are Laurent's answers in our questionnaire:
When friends visit Plovdiv for first time we go to…
Very simple – I don’t have a lot of friends visiting Plovdiv, because I’m a businessman, I work a lot. But if they do come and visit, it’s a couple of the nicer cocktail bars like The Post, Fargo, Anyway – love their cocktails – or that little Greek or Armenian whisky bar that Gergana loves but I forgot the name. (Editor’s note: Sandak)
When it’s party time I go to....
Well, Plovdiv doesn’t have a lot of parties. It’s one of the biggest downsides of Bulgaria – that Bulgarians don’t know how to party. The nightlife scene is pretty sad. So on the rare occasion that I would go to a party, it will be something organized by artnewscafe, because it’s a more techno/house vibe. They should do more parties like that but I’m glad with what I can get and that is the place I would go. Or Fargo – they have some funky nights. I like that as well. Fargo on Saturday nights, that’s also good.
The most underrated place in Plovdiv is…
That is very simple and I always beat myself up because I don’t go there enough – Dwell Coffee House. Seriously, they have one of the most fantastic coffees in Plovdiv. Point, the end, no discussion.
A place in Plovdiv that always wows people is…
Butterfly Club. I have to be honest, all the foreigners I’ve taken with me or all the employees, all the girlfriends I’ve taken with me to Butterfly Club absolutely love it. And I’m supporting these strippers making their money to study marketing. So yes, Butterfly Club, fantastic place.
My alternative route in Plovdiv is…
I don’t have an alternative route. I’m a business person who is really busy, I always take the same route. Sometimes I use the Main Street, sometimes I use the street parallel to that but I’ve never been to the Old Town, for example. Well, once for 15 minutes, although it’s 500 meters from my office.
So, I don’t have alternatives routes. Now, I do have a very nice alternative restaurant which is Taco Reyes. It’s known by a lot of the foreigners, not that many Bulgarians know it yet. But they have some of the best tacos I’ve ever had.
My least favorite thing in Plovdiv...
There’re a couple of things that annoy me. One of the first things I would say is the traffic. Especially because there’re a lot of these cars that exhaust a lot of fumes. Instead of choosing to go greener and really go for the 21st century, the city is choosing to go and build more roads and bigger roads. They’re living in the past instead of the future. So that’s my least favorite thing in Plovdiv. And the heat in the summer – Jesus Christ!
