Bleary-eyed and bruised from a media scrum last night, I've just got up and opened the window of our one-bedroom apartment to let the sunshine and fresh air stream in.
I'm now sat at a table crammed with equipment, half of which I hadn't heard of before last week. An Avid laptop, a break-out box and lip mic, a marantz, stick mic and another laptop, an ISDN kit, a phone, Wifi modem, chargers, batteries, bulbs and more tapes than you can imagine.
We helped out a couple of more experienced broadcasters produce some TV pieces from this very room, and they immediately recognised the scene, and said it brought the memories flooding back. This is the life of a crew on the road.
Last night was mental. After editing, filing, and a Che presser in the day, we prepared for Amfar, Madonna and Sharon Stone's 'Cinema Against AIDS' party, the most star-studded bash this side of the Oscars. Our coach driver got lost, so our early shuttle arrived late, and it wasn't a good start.
We were met with a packed wall of paps, press, TV and radio crews, crammed in like I've never seen before, elbowing, pushing, vying for position / space / air to breathe. The red carpet (well, concrete strip) was about 10 metres long and the melee faced it behind a barrier. Our allotted 'space' was five metres in with no way to get over the barrier. So we entered from one end, pushed, pulled, squeezed and fought our way to our spot, and set up for the craziest night of filming I've ever experienced.
But - we spoke to Sharon Stone, Mary J Blige, Madonna, Mila Jovovich, Dita Von Teese, Christian Slater, Rose McGowan, Harvey Weinstein, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Donatella Versace and Dennis Hopper and shot hundreds of others, so as far as footage went, we got stuff in the bag.
We have plenty more to do today, but we leave tomorrow and it really feels like the whole experience is drawing to a close. We went for a meal after Amfar last night (Alison finally filed after 4am) and we're already getting pretty nostalgic about it, like it's already a distant dream.
Just before the meal, I ran out to catch some of Dirty Harry on the big-screen beach cinema. With the lights of the Croisette buzzing behind, and the waves of the Mediterannean breaking in front, it is possibly the most romantic and beautiful setting ever for a cinema. I missed Clint's introduction, but arrived in time for the iconic 'Well do ya, punk?' scene, sat in a deckchair on the sand under a starry sky. It was wonderful.
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