We left Cannes and flew home today. :(

The past two weeks have been the most incredible experience I could’ve ever asked for. I’ve learned a lot about myself and the industry I will be working for in the near future.

Thank you to everyone who has read this blog and kept up to date on my trip! I’m going to post some photos from the trip very soon, so stay tuned for those.

Bon Voyage!

Today is officially my last full day in France. I’ve been dreading this day! This trip and experience has been everything and more that I wanted, and I’m sad to see it come to a close.

We woke up early this morning to go to Monaco! Monaco is a principality of France on the French Riviera. Monaco is beautiful. On our way there, we got out of our bus multiple times just to take pictures of the scenery. We drove through the mountains. The view was incredible!! I feel like color in France is always amplified. The water is bluer and the trees are greener here.

Monaco wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. We went on a tour with a tour guide today, which is one of my least favorite things ever. I dont like to be guided around a city by someone. I would rather be given a map with key locations I should visit, and be left alone to do it by myself or with friends. Our tour guide took us to the most random places ever and half of the things we were supposed to see were closed for the day. (Princess Grace’s grave and the Monaco Casino.) And I think everyone was just cranky, hot, tired and hungry. So…that’s always recipe for disaster. The city really is beautiful, though. We got to go to Monte Carlo, too!

When we got home, we immediately went to the beach for one last swim in the Mediterranean. We jumped off the pier again today. So fun!!

Now I have to go grab dinner and start packing. Do. Not. Want. To. Pack. We have to leave for the airport around 7am tomorrow.

I started off my day by seeing a movie. Perfection! Tara and I met Kim (Lorie’s high school friend) in the lobby at 7:45afoot catch the bus for our 9am movie. On Sunday, all of the films in competition replay so people with the right credentials can go see them. We went to go see Melancholia, starring Kirsten Dunst and Alexander Skarsgard. It was incredible. I had goosebumps for over half of the film because it was so beautiful. The music was gorgeous. I’m buying the soundtrack when I get home because it was flawless.

After the movie, we came home and put on our bathing suits to go to the beach. But when we got there…the bathing suit tops came off. Sorry I’m not sorry… Everyone had so much fun!! We went swimming, jumped off the pier, lay on the beach, etc. The weird thing is that being nude/topless on the beach isn’t weird at all. Everyone does it, and no one looks. It’s not weird or perverted. It’s the norm. It’s like if you went to a beach in America and everyone was clothed. It’s like that, only everyone is topless or in a Speedo. You just don’t give anyone a second glance. That’s what I love about the people in France: Everyone does what they want. Everything is so free and unapologetic. No one worries or judges.

Tonight was our “farewell” dinner in Cannes la Bocca. Insert sad face here. We went to Amici, the best restaurant to ever be in business. I got a spicy penne, and asked for extra spice. I was almost breathing fire. Dinner was a lot of fun because all of us dressed up and our entire group was together for the first time since we flew into the Nice airport. Lorie made a toast to our grup, and I cried. Was I the only one who cried? Yup. What is happening to me?!

Later on, Tara and I got tickets to go see a red carpet premiere of a film. By the time we were ready to go at the bus stop, we realized we would never make it there in time. Booooooo. But at least we’ve gotten to walk the red carpet (with Faye Dunaway!!) before! We ended up just going home.

Now I’m about to start packing my suitcase, which I am NOT excited about. 1. I hate packing. 2. This means that I’m leaving very soon.

My stay in Cannes is coming to a close…UNFORTUNATELY.

Yesterday was a really stressful day. I went to the pool for 2.5 hours, and then I went to the beach for 2.5 hours. Life is so hard!! For the first time in my life, I am actually tan and not a tomato.

Krysten, Tara and I went shopping around Cannes. I got some really nice things! I got sandals, earrings, a Festival de Cannes coffee mug, and a purse. Oh, and gelato was obviously involved.

A while later, we stopped at McDonald’s for a beer. Yes…McDonald’s in France sells beer. It was something that we had on our France bucket list. And of course we were the most obnoxious/obvious Americans there. I think we snapped around 20 tourist photos.

Later that night, Ben arrived in Cannes!! Ben is from England and studied abroad at CMU last year. We haven’t seen him in a year! He’s spending the rest of our trip with us, and then he and Krysten are traveling around Europe until the beginning of June. (JEALOUS.)

That night, all of the American Pavilion students went to an Irish pub to celebrate our last night. (Everyone from other schools and states went home on either Sunday night or Monday morning.) It was a lot of fun, but I liked our other karaoke Irish pub better.

Yesterday was great! We woke up to go to the Pavilion for an “American style breakfast,” which is something I’ve been craving. We got to the Pavilion and there were slices of cheese and croissants. Umm…That’s not American if you ask me. It was kind of a bummer, but I’m all about free stuff (especially food) so I got over it pretty quick.

Tara and I went shopping for a couple of hours. I didn’t get anything, but she walked away with a ton of great stuff. We ate lunch at the Pavilion, and then went home to relax before the karaoke party at the Pavilion later that night.

Lorie’s (my mentor) friend, Kim, got into town last night. She’s so nice! She’s going to be with us for the rest of the trip, so it was really nice to meet her. We ended up going to our favorite restaurant, Amici, for dinner.

After Amici, we went back to the Pavilion for the karaoke party. It was a blast! We didn’t get to sing anything because the sign up sheet was so long. But it was hilarious to watch everyone else. I think that the kid who sang “Baby Got Back” was the best. I mean, it is a crowd favorite song.

I can’t believe our time in Cannes is almost over! I hate looking at the calendar every day only to see that I have one less day left here. If I could transport my family, dog and best friends to Cannes, I would stay here forever. (Hint hint, Mom and Dad!)

Yesterday (Wednesday) was my last day working at the DDA public relations office. They started to pack up everything in the office to fly back home today. The office was pretty slow so I got to go home early, which was great because there were two panels at the Pavilion that I wanted to go see!

I went home and showered, and then took the bus back to Cannes for the panels. The first panel I saw was for the documentary, “The Big Fix.” It’s about the BP oil spill and how sick and twisted everything is within our government while they “try” to clean it up. I will be honest: the only reason that I went is because Jason Mraz was speaking at the panel. But once I was sitting down and listening to Jason and the producers talk about the film, I was hooked. It was so moving to sit there and listen to people speak about something they are so passionate about. I almost cried at one point because one of the producers can never go out in the sunlight again, due to a disease she contracted from being in the same air as the oil spill. She never came in contact with oil. Just being in the same air caused this disease. I really hope this film blows up in the states so people can really see what is happening with the Gulf.

After that panel, I entered a raffle to win a seat for the “Drive” panel. Drive is My future husband’s (Ryan Gosling) movie that premieres tomorrow at the festival. The panel was going to be packed with media, so there were rattling off 10 tickets for students to go see it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get one, but my friend Tara did. About 10 minutes before the panel, she came up to me and told me I could have her spot because I love Ryan way more. I seriously could’ve cried. I got to sit in the front row! It was…incredible. Ryan is approximately 37763478 times sexier in person. And he’s hilarious and so nice! Yes, we made eye contact more than once. Yes, he proposed. Yes, you’re all invited to the wedding. After the panel, he shook everyone’s hand that worked at the Pavilion (I’m never washing my hand again) and said thank you for letting him come speak. I really hope I score a ticket to the premiere tomorrow night, because the film sounds great.

After a long day of panels, I went home, grocery shopped for dinner, and then got ready with our entire CMU group to go to the Irish pub. We had a blast!! It was karaoke night. Need I say more?! Me, John, Neil, Tara and Krysten (Team Detroit, as the bartender called us) sang Bohemian Rhapsody for our first song. Everyone in the pub loved it!! Not going to lie…we did a great job. Then we attempted Don’t Stop Believing. It was a disaster. It was basically the five of us SCREAMING the words. Everyone did not like that. We’re going to a karaoke party tonight at the Pavilion, so last night was just a warm up for Team Detroit.

I really can’t believe how fast this week has gone by. The first week went by extremely slow, which was great. But now time is flying. It’s Thursday! How did this happen?! I am not going to be happy when Monday rolls around and I have to pack my bags…

Today was a really fun day, as per usual. I’m finding that it’s impossible to not have a great day when you are in Cannes.

My work experience is improving a lot. There’s actually stuff for me to do now! I got to work and they had me call a list of media professionals and get their opinions about the film “Take Shelter.” I had to jot down their quotes and give it to my boss so she could send it out for a media blast. That took about an hour, and then there wasn’t anything else for us to do. I walked over to the Pavilion and was put to work there. Me and a group of people stood outside in Cannes around the festival grounds and passed out promotional flyers for a film screening. It’s a movie about Walter Shaw, who is the man that completely changed telephone technology. He invented call waiting, touch tone dialing, conference calls, etc. Unfortunately, corporate America never let him take credit for his inventions, and he never saw a dime from everything he invented. We got to meet his son, who wrote and directed the film.

Afterward, we got exciting news that CNN wants to do a story about our CMU group being the first hospitality/event management student group to work at the festival. Lorie followed me, Dawn, and Tara around as we showed her around the Palais and the rest of the festival grounds so she could take videos and photos of us for the news stories. And guess what? There’s an article about our group in the Chicago Tribune and New York Times today!!

Me, Dawn, Tara and my friend Courtney from work went to go see a film later. We saw “Take Shelter” starring Michael Shannon. He was brilliant in it. I was on the edge of my seat for the last half of the movie, and I had goosebumps when the credits rolled. When it plays in the states, everyone needs to go see it. It was really cool, because the man who directed and wrote the film was in the theater and did a Q&A with the audience. It was really interesting.

A group of us went to Amici, my new favorite restaurant in Cannes, for dinner. I’m not lying when I say that I’ve literally been thinking about their food all day. Tara and I already knew what were going to get. We didn’t even need a menu. We shared a salad that had apples and walnuts on it, shared a four cheese penne, and got strawberry tiramisu. I think the most accurate way to describe my experience in Cannes is to say that it is the “eat” section of “Eat, Pray, Love.” Sorry I’m not sorry. Amici’s was so fun! We brought Courtney along with us, and I’m pretty sure we scared her to death. Please try. To picture nine women eating, drinking, and trying to tell stories over one another. Yeah. It’s terrifying. But I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time. Everyone was cracking me up!

After Amici’s, we made a brief cameo at Siete Quatro Uno. It’s the “hottest club in Cannes La Bocca.” By which I mean the two boys on our trip from CMU live in room 741 and like to have all the girls over. Tonight they serenaded us with a beautiful Enrique Iglesias song. It brought a tear to my eye.

And now it’s time to pass out. I’m sooo sleepy. Goodnight everyone!

P.S. Mom and Dad- I got my business cards in the mail today. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sending them to me!!

Guess what? I actually did work at work today!! Please, try not to be too shocked. I got to work and there was barely anyone in the office. I was asked to go help at a press conference for “The Hunger Games.” It’s a really popular book (part of a series) that is being turned into a film in 2012. I haven’t read them yet, but I do have the first book on my Kindle so I can read it on the flight home.

I was asked to seat people for the event in their assigned sections. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the actual press conference. It would’ve been really neat to see it. Afterward, I went back up to the press office and had to call a list of media people to see if they attended the morning screenings of “The Tree of Life,” starring Brad Pitt.
(Side note: let me just say that I have heard nothing but terrible reviews. I heard that half of the theater walked out before it ended, and they other half booed at the end of the film. Yikes. The trailer looked so promising!! I’m going to try to catch it on Sunday.) After I finished contacting e media, it was time to go home. I look a shuttle home with my friend Casey.

I went out to buy a new bus pass, and a few groceries. I read Tina Fey’s book for a while (almost finished!) and then I made a groundbreaking discovery: Slice a piece of baguette into two pieces, put globs and globs and globs of Nutella on it, and put on some sliced strawberries. I died. I took an exhaustion/food coma nap, and was woken up every 5 minutes by Krysten pretending to fart on me, and making me smell her breath. Annoying? Yes. But it (eventually) got me out of bed.

We got dressed up for a night out as a group. We haven’t been able to hang out as a whole group yet, so we wanted to go out and have a bit of fun…! We went to Lorie’s favorite restaurant here: Amici. It’s my new favorite restaurant too. It’s an affordable little italian place. I got a pesto and tomato gnocchi. Again, I died.

We ended up going to a bar in Cannes later. Let me just say that drinks here are ridiculously priced. Then we got invited to a party on the beach. It was so much fun!! There was dancing, but it was all music from the 70s and 80s, so people were grooving hard. I loved it. When the party ended, we got invited to another party at the casino inside of the Palais. Whoever invited us must be loaded, because the people working at the party made people get up and move so we could have a VIP table. Oh, and we were given 30 euros to take a cab home, but it only costs about 10 euros. Could I get used to this? Yes. Yes. Yes. Everyone had so much fun last night. It was great to be able to go out and just have some fun as a group. Hopefully we get to do it again later this week!!