Day 8: The breezy day wasn't sure how to begin--or end. Sunshine alternated with fast-moving clouds and even a little rain. But what dampened the spirits of Cannes crawlers was the fact that so many of the stars like Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Sandler have left the Croisette already. At least Sharon Stone and David Lynch are here for the duration.

Celebrities like Christina Ricci and Michael Moore have made the American Pavilion the spot to be, but it's certainly not the only place to eat on the Riviera. There are a few magnificent and exclusive restaurants for "doing lunch" before the pre-screening dinner parties, some in medieval towns in the hills dotting the area.

One of the most exquisite places to be seen making the scene is the restaurant in the magical Colombe d'Or Hotel, in the tiny fortress town of St. Paul about a half hour from Cannes. The gorgeous hotel is nestled along stone ramparts built in the mid 1500s. This place was famous in the art scene long before it captured the wild imagination of the film world.

In the 1920s and 1930s, struggling artists who later became legends exchanged their canvasses and sculptures for food. As a result the walls are lined with Picassos (yes, more than one!), a few Miros, Chagalls, and a Matisse. A huge Calder mobile sits at the head of the hotel's green-tiled swimming pool instead of a diving board. The art here could fund Scorsese's next costume drama!

But what the crowds were waiting for all day was Jack. Yes, that famous Easy Rider Jack Nicholson, who is rumored to have said upon his first visit at the festival decades ago, "The only way I want to come back here is as a star!"

He did not disappoint the crowds. Dressed nattily in his tux, sporting a grizzled white beard and thick sunglasses, Jack held court at a corner table at the party on Carlton Beach. As the laser lights started to airbrush the tall trees with the colors of the rainbow, guests munched on Provencal hors d' oeuvres and dessert tarts, washing it all down with the local grape.

When the announcement was made in a heavy French accent, "You must all leave if you want to go to the Palais and watch About Schmidt, there was a mass exodus to the famous stairs. Jack was one of the last to arrive, avec entourage, and the crowd went wild outside as well as inside The Grand Lumiere where the dressed-to-the-nines attendees gave a standing ovation that went on and on.

Academy Award winners Nicholson and his co-star Kathy Bates are fearless in this dark comedy. In which Jack plays a recently retired man whose wife dies suddenly. Dermot Mulroney, who plays his idiotic future son-in-law, is hilarious for his hairstyle alone.

Even though the film ended after midnight, the town was still hopping with an impromptu party that created a traffic jam in the middle of the road! When do people sleep?