Sydney in mourning as we arrive in the city

News of the hostage situation had already been broadcast before our departure from LAX on Sunday, and by the time we arrived in Sydney on Tuesday (we lost Monday, Dec. 15 in transition), the bad news about the deaths of two hostages took off some of the lustre in Sydney.

In the afternoon we joined hundreds of people of Sydney in the somber pilgrimage to Martin Place, just on the other side of Darling Harbor where we are staying. Martin Place is a shopping/pedestrian street in the heart of the Central Business District. I haven't learned the details of this crisis, but I can see that Australians are greatly affected by the violent murder of two innocent victims going about their daily lives.

As we visit various points of interest in Sydney during the next few days, we will no doubt see and feel the weight of this tragedy on Sydney's people.