I suppose before I leave this thread and being from
Melbourne - I should ask - "What would Melbourne
be without its trams?"

Our entire population would have been deprived of a
picturesque and relatively pollution-free form of
transport. Those who really get hooked on trams
cen even dine on one. The Tramcar Restaurant,
the world's first travelling tram restaurant, even
has special stabilisers giving the smoothest of rides
for passengers - and their wine glasses.

<< … cen …>> ??

That’s a new one for me!!

D’Oh sorry Lexi, Just being a dork!

I’m good at that you know!

Um, yeah, trams in Melbourne.

I drove through the centre of the city earlier this year.

Boy do I hate city driving, but I braved it in order to visit the botanic gardens… and then hightailed it up Sydney St and outta there real quick… or I should say; rather slowly…or um… very sloooowwwwly actually.

But it was an interesting experience, with all that traffic and innumerable traffic lights,,,, and those trams!

Now that really was something entirely new for little ol’ norf Qweeenslander me. Like visiting a different country!!

A nice meal with a top drop of red on a tram that runs so smoothly as to not spill a full glass of vino. Now that is just so far out of my brain-space as to be never thought of before!

But I’ll have to give it a burl on my next visit… which will hopefully be next summer.

Thanks for the thought.

( :>)

Dear Ludwig,

I hope that you do come back to Melbourne - and not
only for the tram restaurants. Melbourne has always
cherished its reputation as a city which takes its
eating very seriously. Many feel that Melbourne
remains the gastronomic capital of Australia.
And I'm sure you'll find a restaurant that matches
your taste and your wallet. There's plenty to
chose from.

On Tuesday evening we celebrated my daughter-in-law's
birthday with dinner at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne.
We started at the Ru Co Bar and ended up with dinner
at their Colins Kitchen Restaurant. It was superb.
And much to our delight - Tuesday nights - were
dicounted prices. Wahoo. The food was great - and the
setting - luxurious - and made the evening even more special.
As I said - we are spoiled for choice here in Melbourne.

Wow, jayb.

>>One hotel holds 55000 people<<

Must be a challenge when they all want their breakfast at the same time.

My "must visit" spot is a tiny, family-run restaurant, just around the corner from the Trevi fountain. First found it by sheer accident when I was in Rome for a couple of days on business, many years ago. Been back three times since. Mamma still does much of the cooking, and brings it herself to your table. Papa still sits by the cash register, reading Il Messaggero and grumbling about the football results. More recently, also bemoaning the fact that he has to go outside to smoke. Possibly the only exercise he gets, from the look of him.

Never had gnocchi like it, before or since.

Dear Pericles,

I'm a big fan of Italian cooking.
But I've got to admit not of gnocchi.
Simply because the way they seem to make
it here in Oz - is so saturated with tomato
sauce. I do believe however that the version you ate
must have been superb.

Georges Restaurant here in Camberwell has the
best veal dishes, and their lasagna simply melts in your mouth.
Yum.

I also love Russian food. A few years ago - the well-known -
"Vodka, Borsch, and Tears," Restaurant in Prahran had
the best cabbage-rolls. Not sure if their standard has
dropped though - because they are under new management,
and we haven't been back for a while.

I might make some beef strogonoff this week-end,
- being the start of winter,
here in Melbourne -
along with chicken broth and dumplings to warm the
soul. (sigh).

Pericles: >>One hotel holds 55000 people<<

Must be a challenge when they all want their breakfast at the same time.

The hotels are not like ours. The units are all self contained. 1 to 8 person units with bedrooms, lounge, kitchen & bathroom, toilets. They are small, but each has a balcony. The Hotels don't have a dining areas like we have in Australia, although they do have a number of Restaurants. We had a wonderful 2 weeks there. There was lots to see, Canal Du Midi, Sete, & lots of little villages. Vin du Pays, (Local wine) & local cheeses, Narbonne, & Carcassonne. I visited the Black Cathedral (It’s made of black volcanic rock) as I walked in, the organ started to play. It was the first time it had been played in 700 years. It had been fully restored. Apart from the Organist I was the only one there. It was very special. The Altar piece is carved out of one piece of Alabaster & it is massive, about 5 metres long, 8 high & about 2 metres wide. Beautiful.
Agde was the only port for bringing Tin in from the British Isles, BC, as China had closed its boarders around 400 BC. They are always finding Greek, Carthaginian & Roman statues in the bay & river. It’s worth a visit even if you don’t stay in the Naturist Quarter.