My favorite taxi driver was at the nearby taxi stand when I walked up, and we started up like old friends. This time I was on my way to a restaurant in a one-way street that like many recently around Paris has changed direction specifically to make it harder for drivers to find their way through the city. The resto was one of those chic new ones where the chef comes out to talk to the diners, and you can see the cooks chopping and sautéing away in the kitchen as you eat. On the whole that is a good sign, but not when the chef spends half of lunch obliviously chatting with old friends at the next table, while you wait for your menu.... and wait for your drinks.... and waiiiiittt for your food....
Meanwhile the taxi driver told me that he was held up at gunpoint recently. "I picked up a nice-looking couple and they wanted to go to a housing project in the suburbs. Normally I refuse to go there but because they looked decent I thought it was all right. But when I got there they braqué un pistolet on me and took all my day's earnings. It was at least 200 euros."
