Merlin

Hello and thanks for visiting! I'm Merlin and I hope to meet you during your holiday in Bali, to show you the hidden places and amazing experiences I have discovered in my beautiful adopted home.
To introduce myself, let me first tell you that my whole life story has brought me to this point–designing and presenting Picnic Paradise!
I love to share my passions — cooking, enjoying good food, discovering oneself and living off the beaten track — and have combined these passions into the Picnic Paradise. From my journeys around the world, I have discovered the pleasure of the extraordinary in everyday life.

Born at the end of the period that the French call the ‘Glorious Thirties’, I grew up between the Nice sunlight on the French Riviera, and the flavored ambiences of real Marcel Pagnol's mountain hamlet (Marcel Pagnol was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker: Marius, Fanny, César, Jean de Florette, Manon des sources, My Father's Glory, My Mother's Castle…).
Picnics are an extraordinary way to explore and discover new places. In my beautiful city (Nice) and traveling through Europe, I often created ‘urban picnics’ ¬– taking delight in finding unique places where it was possible to sit, lie down and relax alone or with friends (and always with wine and delicious prepared appetizer!). A low wall facing the Bay of Angels just next the most fragrant fig tree that I have known, a lawn on a roundabout in front of Vatican, a fountain edge in a small village or simply a flowered public garden in Berlin — I found a simple and pure freedom that came with these urban adventures.

My passion for discovery and exploring my limits brought me to Vietnam, where I spent 10 years before moving to Bali 6 years ago. In my new home in Bali’s stunning area of Ubud, I have found many more breathtaking locations. I hope to share these with you soon.

Language spoken: English, French.

Location: ubud bali.