sunshine and roses

After the explosion yesterday, staff at my place of employ were all sent home... an unexpected half-day off. It was quite strange to be sitting in our houses drinking the coffee that we usually don't have time for in the mornings, and then to saunter off to enjoy the sunshine. The beautiful pictures below were taken at "Erbil Park". In fact, most of the parks are beautiful now. Who knew that Hawler had so many roses? Every park seems full of them. It seemed weird and surreal to be enjoying a calm lunch surrounded by roses in the park as the result of a truck bomb.

PS. Please note that these photos (taken by B) are taken just hours after the ones in the post below!