Rue D'Antibes
The tale of a 90-minute Cannes friendship
As Cannes Lions gets bigger and the scene in the town gets crazier, Raj Kamble finds solace in a surprising 90-minute friendship
By Raj Kamble
Back in 2003, I was gorging on my favourite baguette sandwich next to Palais when I ran into Fleur. Those days I lived in London, had taken a £20 EasyJet flight to Nice (yes, 20 pounds!) and was sharing a room with Vikram Gaikwad at a small hotel in the lane behind Majestic.
Fleur was like a typical French girl straight out of the movies (okay, I mean the one French film I had seen up until then to try and look like I appreciate world cinema) – in her early 20's, born and raised in Cannes, and helping her dad in his real estate business. The day I met her was marked by a perfect blue sky, crisp clean light, yellow sand, her shining blonde hair and beautiful beige dress. Her english was as bad as mine, and neither of us could really understand what the other was saying – which is what made this work, I guess. But I remember being struck by how curious she was about this Festival and what we were all doing here after the 'real festival' was over. (Her words, not mine!)
To a younger me, this curiosity and attention felt nice. It was cool to hang out with one of the locals, and within an hour of knowing her I had given myself quasi-local status, looking down on all these tourists who came and crowded the city.She then asked me for my number and where I was living. And as I was about to give her the flattered but humble, "I'm in a relationship" response, she said the 6 words that no guy visiting Cannes can resist, "I have an apartment for rent."
And that's how I met my landlord, Fleur. Soon enough, she was showing me her dad's apartment – a beautiful, spacious studio behind Carlton, with a balcony and pretty view. It was 30% cheaper than the shitty hotel I was staying in and I became a fan. Since then, I have stayed at Fleur's apartment every year. Of course it's a sweet deal that the calculative me would never let go, but what makes it really special is the friendship I have developed with Fleur. I call this a 90-minute friendship because every year she picks me up at Nice airport and drops me back. And in the 45 mins we spend each way, we catch up on everything about each other.
I remember one particular year when Fleur didn't show up. In stead I found a good looking guy waiting for me at the airport. In the journey, I learned he was her boyfriend and owned a café behind Roma Restaurant next to the Fountain. Good for me, I got invited for some good food and coffee cause of my local cache (he says with a smug smile). The next year when I saw Fleur, I was about to ask about this guy but stopped myself cause something didn't feel right. And sure enough, I discovered that they had broken up. Not to worry though, the year after that there was another guy – a better looking guy – who owned a club on Rue D'Antibes. When the same guy showed up 2 years in a row, I figured Fleur got married and sent her a congratulations text. But the next year, she was there alone again, talking all about how the club-owner was a selfish ass and she's done with him.
Now, 15 years later, Fleur has been married 3 times and has 3 kids. She wears the same kind of clothes she did when I first met her but doesn't have all of her curiosity and wonder. Now, her dad's company manages 15 apartments and they know the same drill every year. These advertising people will come, they'll make a big deal out of something, there will be drinking and yelling and garbage on the streets, and they'll go back. Things have changed for me as well – I moved from London to New York and then to Mumbai, my kids are growing up and life is very different from a Creative Director to an Entrepreneur. Which is why, I think. Fleur and I like each other so much. We both remind each other of a simpler time. A time before AirBnB and before massive Facebook tents on the Cannes beach.
As the festival gets bigger and bigger, and the scene in the town gets crazier, we find solace in our 90-minute friendship. I bring her the same Indian snacks every year and she doesn't increase her rent. When things are completely chaotic at work (usually as March end approaches), I receive Fleur's text every year saying, "Raj, will you take the same apartment this year." It's not a question, cause she knows I will and somehow with that message, everything feels all right. Our world, industry and life may keep changing erratically, but I'll always have Fleur, my studio apartment and Cannes.
Of course, I guess you can't completely avoid change, and as I'm writing this from the Bombay Airport, a new guy has texted me on behalf of Fleur saying he's going to pick me up at Nice. Let's see what surprise is there in store for me this time.
The writer is the founder and CCO of Famous Innovations.
Roma Restaurant
Raj Kamble
BE at Cannes