Sydney is a beautiful city. Sunshine + no wind the whole 3 days we were there. Melbourne is further south, closer to Antarctica so cooler. In general, everything in Oz is so calm and mellow. Both cities are super kids friendly, wonderful for family trip. The only turn off is everything is darn expensive. Food is about the same as US but the clothing and other necessities are marked up.
It's sooooo nice to see some old friends. First time we met Lok's family, member of 6. We were staying at Lok's place the whole time we were in Melbourne. He made us 3 meals a day, so nice of him. Anson so gets a long with Jed (22 mos) & Cherry (8 mos) & their 2 dogs, they definitely some great play time.
Also, I've met Ivy, my very good friend since I was 7. She took us to an upscale restaurant in Mel Casino and we had great Oz steak & lamb racks. We haven't seen each other for 10 years but we stay in good touch. Our laughs our jokes have never changed.
A 12 hours direct flight via Qantas Air is not too bad at all as Anson knows how to entertain himself & the passengers. He tooks a few hours nap, and no drama for the rest of the time. Not bad. 
