We 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.

We 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.

Obviously 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!

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