Material Girl | Wake up to the benefits of the intergenerational getaway

I had to do a double take; it looked like a giant screensaver.

I opened the curtains fully at 7am for a better view of the hot air balloons just hovering above the city skyscrapers.

It was good timing actually because I thought it may help coax my two daughters out of bed.

Or not.

"There's hot air balloons! Wake up!!" I say. Once. Twice. Then, three times with feeling.

Finally, they look out the window but then they quickly get back under their covers, saying they only need 20 minutes to get ready. No panic. Enjoy your balloons!! ZZZzzzzzz

With high expectations, a packed program and two newcomers on board this year, the women on my husband's side of the family celebrated our 10^th annual long weekend trip to Melbourne.

What started out as a three-generational party of five a decade ago had ballooned into a party of nine as cousins reached the obligatory high school qualifying age.

We have routinely carved out the first weekend in May in Melbourne since 2014 for eating, shopping, seeing, doing and just being ... together.

In 2018 we booked the Lune Lab experience at Lune Croissanterie at Fitzroy.

Seated at a bar overlooking "The Cube" - Lune's climate controlled raw pastry kitchen - we were served a three-course menu; the signature croissant, followed by an experimental savoury pastry and dessert. It was a pastry flight with endless coffee and a show to boot.

The escargot-escargot was brilliant but it would have been a hard sell to my 12-year-old had she been there that year! This year, I've told her that we'll be eating "different" food on our trip; not all of it beige!

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Our tenth anniversary three-generational trip played out like this:

Thursday, 6.45am: V/Line train Albury to Melbourne for $7.90 adults and $3.90 kids is a steal. Sister-in-law N wonders why we've never caught the train for this weekend away before until I remind her of the luggage limits. She packs enough for roughly six weeks but handles her three bags on trams and travelators like a pro! I pack light because I'm no pro on public transport or moving staircases!!

Noon, Cellar Bar, Bourke Street: It's raining, so the lovely Aleksandra has moved our Cellar Bar al fresco booking and put us pretty much in Grossi Florentino heartland. We enjoy the Cellar Bar tasting menu (nine dishes of cured meats, croquettes, pasta and tiramisu) with hatted restaurant ambience. Cheerful staff look after our two 12-year-olds, who order authentic pasta and juice off the menu. This iconic Italian Melbourne experience never disappoints nor fails to welcome you like family.

5.15pm, Chocolate Buddha: Big lunch-early dinner seems like a rookie error! However, we buy share dishes and leave in good time to catch a show around the corner at The Regent Theatre.

7.30pm: & Juliet photo booth perfectly fits nine of us. I Want It That Way! (Warning: Backstreet Boys' lyrics will be stuck in your head for days but it's well worth it!!)

10.15pm, Nick and Nora's, Collins Street: Three sisters-in-law. One nightcap. Swanky place, pricey prices but honestly it's our anniversary! Cheers to us!!

Friday, 9am, Archie's All Day, Fitzroy: Best avo smash and top coffee. The teens and tweens opt for fried chicken on waffles.

6pm, Supernormal, Flinders Lane: Banquet highlights are Szechuan pickled vegetables, mushroom dumplings, slow-cooked lamb shoulder with eggplant and Yuxiang sauce and a peanut butter parfait. My youngest tries new foods that aren't beige but her favourite is still Korean rice cakes, which are basically beige!

Saturday, 7am: Look up: hot air balloons (as above)!!

8.30am, Hardware Societe: Consistently excellent breakfast fare.

11am, fortyfivedownstairs gallery: Free drawing class with Marco Luccio. We draw to music, do a progressive picture and sketch our hands. Some in our group have talent. Not naming names but it's not me.

6pm, Daughter-In-Law, Little Bourke Street: Delicious with a killer playlist.

Sunday, 9am: We split up into smaller groups to tick off last-minute jobs. Get a Boost Juice, eat our first fries for the trip and wait for the late train.

Beyond the eating, shopping and hanging out, however, intergenerational trips are worth it for checking in with your girl gang.

It won't be our only catch-up between Melbourne long weekends, but other trips are never the same.

Over four days our party easily broke into smaller groups to go in different directions without a major meltdown.

Within two days, our 12-year-olds could orient themselves in the CBD, find a 7-Eleven slushie and ride the trams a few blocks back to the hotel. They will have those memories for a lifetime!

And, it's really quite amazing what you may wake up to!

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