10365198_10154158736670338_1675740539_oI couldn’t resist sharing some of my Cannes experiences with you all. It all happened last minute thanks to the film below which Life Up! made for the 48 Hour Film Project, but my boyfriend and I simply couldn’t pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity to get passes for the festival.

10364508_10154158709265338_1456730243_o 10358611_10154158731770338_1582908512_o 10388694_10154158732840338_110009141_oWe wandered around for the first day in awe of everything we saw. There were hundreds of stands promoting what must have been thousand of feature films, from every genre and country you could think of. Covering three floors of a building and about a mile of coastline, the tents and portakabins brimmed with tired but still eager film makers, producers, writers and actors from every corner of the world. We made our way onto the beach and observed the festival from a distance which looked like a bustling village within the city.

10381010_10154156999310338_1145928634_o 10412365_10154177652675338_1799085524_o 10364568_10154158695855338_259444147_oWe ate out twice a day, as our accommodation was 20 minutes away by train and the food in Cannes was cheap and easily accessible. I imagines long queues and terrible fast food as the city struggled to cope with the 40,000 people who descend everyday. Little did I know the French have been thriving in this festival for 60 odd years and have seemingly unlimited resources when it comes to delivering fresh local produce in beautiful restaurants. We always found the service to be friendly and fast, and of course the food itself was to die for. I was all over the croissants, goats cheese salads and fresh bread. The cheapest thing to get was pizza which was always thin, crispy and less than 10 Euros.

10381205_10154158730565338_154035118_o 10411808_10151996345366652_8217169384142707148_n 10365922_10151996345026652_7627331832116238141_n 10392540_10151993483581652_6881645372733105165_nObviously the dress code for the red carpet was strictly black tie, but day to day most people were rocking their own version of Riviera chic. I floated about comfortably in a black maxi dress or skirt, with two blazers on rotation to make it a little smarter and cover my shoulders from the sun. Add sunglasses and some people double take thinking you might be a celebrity! On the last day, my wonderful boyfriend Joe asked me to marry him and I said yes. What a magical way to end the trip of a lifetime. I celebrated by finally getting one toe on the red carpet and with some champers on the flight home courtesy of some lovely fellow passengers.

Best holiday ever!