Cannes Ad Fest

In June, most of the ad people gather in Cannes, France, to attend the festival. And this was my first trip to Europe.

Ad freaks do care about the industry. But, more than anything else, they love to parté. Throughout the one-week festival, they party every night, and after party until 4, 5 am. I guess that's how they sustain their 'creativity.' I work in the advertising, sort of. But I don't care about this industry. Design folks are much cooler, by far.

Of course, parties serve as networking opportunities for a few people like those from small agencies. But for the majority of ad dorks, 'Cannes' is a vacation. For me, it wasn't. Staying with my bosses in a tiny apartment and sleeping on a couch was totally worse than working in the office without them. 7 am, my bosses unintentionally but loudly woke me up and left for a jog. An hour later, they woke me up again to take me to a farmers market. As much as I appreciated their hospitality, I couldn't enjoy this early morning tour after a late night of partying.

French people know how to eat. Fresh and colorful seasonal vegetables, flowers, olive, fish (not stinky), and cheese are neatly piled and you don't see rotten tomatoes or slimy greens like in American supermarkets. I was convinced this trip would satisfy my dining enthusiasm. Still, it's a tourist town. You have to choose the right place to eat. Key points in choosing a restaurant: waiter/waitresses, atmosphere, menu, price, customers. Between one that looked somewhat fancy "safety" place and a smaller, more quiet restaurant with old waiters, I chose the latter, with my support for a local and unpopular restaurant. Their food was absolutely fantastic. A dish like fluke meunié that tends to be simply blank and boring was carefully seasoned with herb and salt. They seem to use some north African spices down there as an accent. The sea bass with fresh tomato salsa was indescribably good. And the best part is, the portions are just right. I was fully satisfied in taste and volume at the end of the meal. Bravo.