Hi...<BR><BR>Has any one eaten on the Melbourne tram rest. How much would a meal cost. Is it worth taking children on board.<BR>Thanks.

Hi Robin<BR><BR>We were in Australia for a month and in Melbourne which is just a beautiful city with definite british influence, gardens, and parks. Although this was approx. 7 years age I do remember the tram ride we took and frankly it was a mistake-- overpriced, touristy, tacky, and food and wine of poor quality. I do not know if you have trams or trolleys where you live but take your kids to a local amusement park and do something more worthwhile like walking around Melbourne with a guide book than wasting time or money on the tram. Of course this is just one opinion from 2 senior citizens.

Haven't been on the tramcar restaurant myself - I think adults would enjoy it but I can't see children enjoying it. I think its about $50 or $60 per head so not cheap. They would probably get more fun out of taking the tram to the Melbourne Zoo. It's close to the CBD, great zoo with good range of overseas and Australian animals, butterfly house etc.<BR>Another thing to do with children is to take the ferry along the river to the Scienceworks museum, and then possibly onto to Williamstown (old part of Melbourne with lots of eating places and little shops etc).<BR>There's also the fire brigade museum and the new Melbourne museum.

We were in Melbourne last July (2001) for game two of the Lions/Walabies rugby match. There were a group of us on the tram and we had a wonderful time. The food, while not gourmet, was more than adequate and the liquor was fine. Having said that I would not recommend taking children on the tram nor would I make a reservation expecting a four star gourmet meal. I would however encourage you to take your children to the Windsor Hotel for high tea. It's a wonderful experience and not too intimidating for children. If you ask for Jason, he's the manager, I'm sure he'll make your visit something you'll all remember.

We had dinner on the Colonial Tram Car Restaurant on our first trip to Melbourne in 1992. We had the early dinner and really enjoyed it. We thought the food was fine and, with all drinks included, the experience was well worth the money. Right now I believe early dinner is about A$55 and late dinner is about A$90. I don't know if I would recommend it for children because the selections are so limited (two choices for each course). They have a web site at www.tramrestaurant.com.au that shows a typical menu.

Being a Melbournian, bor and bred, I have frequented the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant on many occasions and have found the quality of food, alcohol and service to be well worth the price of admission. Where else in the world can you travel on an older style tramcar around the streets of the city for around 3 hours (late dinner) for around $75-85?? The Colonial Tramcar is an experience for any visitor to Melbourne, but you should not expect it to be a "snooty" affair with everyone holding their noses in the air - the waiting staff are actually usually a lot of fun, make passengers/diners feel very welcome and comfortable and actually add quite a highlight to the evening. The food quality is fine. The wines, beverages, etc. are great and, you may even make some new friends along the way. Don't miss it!

Something else for the children? An indoor rock climbing centre in Collingwood on Wellington Street. Collingwood and Fitzroy are older inner city suburbs with excellent trendy cafes scattered evrywhere.<BR>My children (9 and 12) love eating at <BR>"The Hide-out" on Brunswick St. Fitzroy. Food is very average (nachos, wedges etc) but it's a very funky diner set-up (maybe not your style, but would keep kids very happy). Better food is further down the road- not as interesting a place but delicious for lunch. I'm speaking about "Babka"-a bakery/ cafe. My children are happy to eat their cakes, or you could have a delicious lunch there (some Russian food amongst other recipes). There is the odd queue but it's worth the wait. Try the lemon pie-it's better than the 2 best French bakeries(browns and Laurent) in Melbourne.<BR>Other activities? There are bike tracks all over Melbourne. You can hire bikes near the Yarra River (Alexandra Parade?).<BR>Or the children may enjoy a wildlife park at "Healesville" an hour out of Melbourne. Full of native animals-excellent, but watch the emus-they sometimes follow you in the park where people have lunch and eye your food for pickin's.<BR>For a free birdseye view of Melbourne, take the lift to the cafe"Le Cafe" at the Regent hotel (I think it's changed to Sofitel or something else now)-on Collins St. Go to the men's or ladie's restrooms. The view is incredible-like a James Bond film.<BR>Not sure if your kids are old enough to shop? Smith Street Fitzroy is full of teenage clothing outlets, as well as cafes. Even better, a suburb full of outlets for any age-Bridge Rd. Richmond, and part of Swan St. Richmond.