How to have an Eric Rohmer summer
I found Eric Rohmer about 8 years ago when I was living in Mount Maunganui, it was a beautiful place but didn’t give me much purpose, finding Rohmer did. I stumbled upon Autumn Tale on Vimeo and became obsessed. When you live in a beach town, you live for the summers. I began making every summer a Rohmer summer. Now I live in New York City and that Rohmer summer has been harder to find. The last two summers, I couldn’t afford to go anywhere so the public park pool gave me that fix. This summer, the family I nanny for offered their upstate house, while they were in Italy, and then after that we met a couple, connected on the spot, and they offered us their upstate house for a week. So Rohmeeeerrr…
LEAVE THE CITY
You need a vacation, need to clear your mind from being a shop girl or from your studies, or perhaps you are a local in the town, working as a waitress. Well then befriend a city visitor, while enjoying your own town; next minute you’re taking them to a waterfall. Just embrace the situational encounters. Talk about country life verse city life. Indulge in the environment, go for a hike, look at the horizon, swim in a lake.
SWIMSUITS ALL DAY
Spend all day in a swimsuit — of course you need proximity to water. Whether it’s a beach, pool, lake, creek or the free public pool (think Boyfriends and Girlfriends), swim! Walk, lounge and swim again. No makeup, just sunscreen and a bikini.
HAVE LENGTHY PHILOSOPHICAL CONVERSATIONS
Go deep while out in nature walking, or lounging around quaint furniture. This summer my husband has loved to chew my ear off about Wendell Berry, Digital Minimalism (not letting digital technology rule your life, instead figure out how to to rule it), relationships/marriage - how to survive a marriage lol — we are almost 10 years in so it feels natural. To stay in the Rohmer lane talk about morals, the complexity of relationships, human desires, city vs country (again) and most importantly, disagree intellectually.
EAT EVERY MEAL OUTSIDE
We pulled a table and two camping chairs outside under the tree and have been carrying out pots of orzo zucchini soup, chocolate fondue with fresh berries from the farm down the road, eggplant pasta, summer chicken soup (I got sick) and cider from the local cidery. Breakfast has been crepes with butter and maple syrup, or poached eggs on toast with kale. The key ingredient is to eat outdoors.
BE ALONE
Lounge, read, walk, stare at something/nothing, strum your guitar, play your piano. Just do it alone. You’re probably drained from all those lengthy conversations so take some time to be with yourself.
CRY A LITTLE, OR A LOT
Have a breakdown, release your inner feelings while somewhere new. Is is that you’re still single? You feel like a failure? You don’t know your future? Let it out while lying on the grass and staring up at the trees, or running from a dinner party a la Green Ray style.
DRESS WITH COLOR MINIMALISM IN MIND
*When you’re not in a swimsuit* Dress to compliment your environment - your skirt with your ice cream, eat cherries and wear red, coincidentally match the flowers! A yellow singlet while buying sunflowers or drinking orange juice, or a pool blue swimsuit to match the water, stripes to match the umbrellas and towels and so on.
DANCE TO EURO DISCO
Lastly go out to the local yacht club, the public pool karaoke (I did this lol) or in your house have a little boogie to some 80s euro disco. That’s all! Enjoy your summer!