Laynie Harper - November 2007 Entertainer Of The Month on City Source

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CS: Your audience would like to know about your 'favorites'. What is your favorite wine? Restaurants in town? Travel destination you've embarked on? Hotel? Book that you have read?

LH: I love so many things it’s really difficult for me to pick a favorite. In regard to wine, I am a huge fan of Batard-Montrachet, a French white Burgundy made with chardonnay grapes. I also love red Burgundies and vintage Champagnes. For restaurants in Los Angeles, I enjoy AOC, Mozza Osteria, and Mastros. I cannot say I have a favorite destination as I still have so much more of the world to see. I would like to spend more time in Italy, France and the Caribbean. I like the attention to detail and the excellent service that hotels like the Four Seasons, The Peninsula and The Mandarin Oriental provide. I don’t have a favorite book, but I do prefer reading factual literature to fiction. I am always interested in challenging my mind. I am currently reading Al Gore’s “Assault on Reason” and “Vino Italiano” by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch.

CS: As an upscale dining companion, what in your experience is the best part about meeting someone for the first time for dinner and conversation? What has been the best part about meeting again with repeat friends?

LH: The best part about meeting someone for the first time is knowing that there will be lots to talk about just getting to know each other. In addition to sharing thoughts and ideas, I love sharing food. It’s always wonderful to introduce someone to a new dish or to be introduced to a new restaurant. I like to share several small plates rather than have an entrée all to myself.

The best part about meeting someone again is that first hug to say ‘hey old friend’ and then catching up on each other’s lives. Sometimes we are so busy, our paths don’t cross often. And if all I do is pass through someone’s life once, I hope I contribute to some wonderful memories. I find it infinitely more enjoyable know that even if we don’t meet often, we will meet again.

CS: If you are meeting someone for the first time booking travel with you, how do you go about deciding whether the chemistry will be there for such a long trip with a new encounter? What are some of your guidelines in regards to this or how you approach the situation?

LH: I don’t think it’s wise to just jump into a travel situation with a perfect stranger. I would want to spend at least an evening with someone prior to agreeing to travel with them. It’s important that we like each other and have enough in common to have a really great time together.

In order for me to be the best companion I can be, I need my beauty sleep so I require my own room or an adjoining room. I think spending 24/7 with someone you don’t know well can be awkward for both people. Better for things to develop a little slower, a little more formally, than to quickly discover someone snores loudly, twitches in their sleep or stays up all night watching TV.

I will happily travel to another city to meet someone to spend a single evening together; however, once again I require my own accommodations.

CS: You are in amazing shape! What do you do to look the way you do?

LH: I am proud to say that my body is 100% natural. I am blessed with good genes, but I also love to exercise. I love the way it makes me feel. I enjoy Pilates and gym workouts, but I prefer outdoor activities like long brisk walks, skiing, hiking, and tennis. I’m very athletic and will try anything once… except maybe jumping out of a plane… but then again, I don’t think that qualifies as a sport.

CS: What do you consider is the sexiest part about you? Also, what are the things that turn you on?

LH: I think a woman always sees herself differently than a man does. We see flaws where men don’t. I really like my smile. I know men are attracted to my long, lean legs and my toned, flat tummy. But, I’m frequently told it’s my eyes that are most captivating. I often have perfect strangers stop to tell me how beautiful my eyes are.

I love a well-dressed man who is intelligent, gracious and kind. I like a man who isn’t afraid of getting a manicure or pampering himself with a day at the spa. A keen sense of humor is also very sexy. Other than that, nice teeth and good oral hygiene are big turn ons.

CS: What is your advice to men who want to know how to approach you? Can you tell us something about your personality that most men first seeing you on City-source would be interested in finding out?

LH: I am intelligent and playful, and while I will fawn over you and make you feel like a king for a day, I find it hard to carry on a façade. I’m not a bimbo and cannot dumb-down. I am a very sincere person. Approach me with kindness and consideration. That is all I ask.