A short trip to France

A few days in the area of Dordogne, South West France is the best way to escape the hustle and bustle of London.  

The added bonus is you will not find McDonalds, Costa or Starbucks or any other chain store that frequents every street in London. Instead relax in unique french cafes with a café au lait and croissant then watch the world go by.

Having only ever been to Paris and Nice, I was quite excited to have the opportunity to not only visit the french countryside, but catch up with a familiar face, a friend from Oz in such a beautiful location.

Where I stayed...

The area of Dordogne could be described as untouched, pretty, quaint and like stepping back in time. It's almost like the modern world hasn't quite reached it, until you look closer and see that hidden amongst the buildings are modern shops sporting post offices, tourist information centres and alike.

A view of the Dordogne Valley from Domme

I flew direct to Brive from London City Airport. Having only ever travelled from Heathrow, Gatwick or Stanstead I can say I was pleasantly surprised by this quiet city airport. It certainly lacks the chaos that the other airports have and if you're heading off to relax somewhere it's a good starting point. Air France was another surprise with good customer service, much more than what British Airways would offer on an afternoon flight.

With only 4 days to see the area it was a bit of a whirlwind tour, however it gave me insight into where I'd go when I have more time. Travelling through towns such as Domme, Sarlat, Rocamadour I also had the opportunity to see the Gouffre de Padirac which is the biggest cave I've ever been to. It has a diameter of 35 metres and a depth of 75 metres and once you descend you can explore the base not only on foot but in small boats as they take you along the underground river. It was amazing!

Below are a few photos from the trip.

The market square in Sarlat

Montfort

A gorgeous old house... not far from where I stayed

Collonges la Rouge. Foie gras is the specialty in this region.

I'm now on a diet

au revoir!

Recruitment Consultant or Car Salesmen. Which are worse?

Having returned to Blighty recently and this time with a visa that enables me to work, I have entered the world of job hunting. 

What has surprised me is the hit and miss attitudes of recruitment consultants.

There are good ones. 

I know a few personally and they would kill me if I said they all were bad, so I have to say thank you to those that know what customer service actually is and have the honesty and integrity that makes a good recruitment consultant.  

But others... are downright rude, arrogant and possibly way to full of Generation Y's (a big sorry to the Gen Y's that I know !). 

There is now one global agency I will never ever deal with, and if I'm on the other foot I will never accept any candidates from them.

I also have established a rule that if someone doesn't return my call and blatantly ignores me that I will follow up until I get a response just to piss them off.

Going back to the good recruitment consultants.... 

In the post yesterday I received a surprise. A book from the agency Reed. I hadn't requested it nor was it expected but it was a pleasant surprise to receive something that wasn't a bill. It also shows the care factor that this company has for those candidates it represents.  Perhaps a few other agencies could take a leaf out of their book!

So what do I think in terms of whether the recruitment consultant is worse than the car salesmen... I actually think they fall into the same bucket. If you're about to delve into the realm of job hunting in Blighty then prepare yourself.

And meanwhile the job hunting continues...

Pub Review - The Foresters

Living in Kingston I am lucky to be at the door of many restaurants and cafes. While most are the typical chain based ones, there are a few hidden gems.

Located just over the bridge and in the heart of Hampton Wick is our favourite pub – The Foresters.

A small and quaint pub (which probably describes most British pubs) it's a place where you know you can get good food, wine and service. 

For entree we tried both the pea, broad bean and asparagus risotto with mascarpone and the pickled beetroot with goats cheese, toasted pine nuts and chardonnay dressing. Yum!

The main journey included seared scallops with roasted ceps (had to google ceps), sweetcorn puree and confit chicken. And rib eye steak with portobello mushrooms, cherry-vine tomatoes, caramelised onion, rocket salad and the signature... king edward thick cut chips (which I sneaked a taste on my plate). They do have the best chips!

Now for wine. I typically have an affiliation with Aussie wines only but because the only Aussie wines in Blighty are cheap and nasty, we decided to go with the recommendation by the waitress, which was a lovely light sangiovese red from Italy.

You would think we'd probably had enough food by now but seeing as we were enjoying the atmosphere, company and wine.... dessert had to be included. A lovely creme brulee and apple crumble with custard.

If you want to read more about The Foresters or perhaps book a meal, their website is http://www.the-foresters.com. They do have entertainment each Saturday so you have to book in early for those!