St Petersburg, Russia - Part 8

Before closing off my birthday in St Petersburg I should draw attention to the three chocolate bars which Mike and Sandra gave me. They have the most picturesque wrappers that I felt I had to keep them so that I can share them. They are almost as good as the chocolate itself!
I should mention also that my plan had been to share the champagne and cake provided by the Radisson hotel with Sandra and Mike after dinner. By the time we got back to the hotel after dinner it was about 1AM so that plan went by the wayside. We had another novel experience while getting back to the hotel. Being very late we didn't want to walk all the way back but we were didn't have enough Russian to confidently negotiate with a taxi driver. Anyway, we walked to Nevsky Pr with Dan and Veronika and they flagged down a passing car. Actually the one they flagged for us turned out to be a regular taxi. In St Petersburg private citizens often earn a bit of extra income by cruising for fares as irregular taxis. The deal is, apparently that you tell them where you want to go and what you are willing to pay and all being agreed you have a ride to your destination at the agreed fare. Regular taxis are supposed to work by the meter but innocents like us can get stung because we don't know the language and are not confident enough to control the situation. Anyway, Veronika having flagged down a taxi for us (and an irregular had pulled up for her and Dan) she told the driver to take us to the hotel and gave him the fare - no discussion, no argument - simple. It was hardly an adventure being straight up Nevsky Pr to the hotel but it removed an uncertainty from our situation, for which we were grateful.