An interesting fig adventure, I hope, is on its way ....

Yesterday I was in Oregon, today I am back to Texas .
Weather in Portland , Oregon by the time I left was 52 degree F but wet . Arrived at 3:00 pm Saturday ---> DFW , 32 degree F but dry/cold/sunny ,

One day, just enough time to fill a backpack full of fig scions and some trees , get ready for Europe .

A fig adventure will begin Wednesday Jan 28, heading London first. Does anyone here suggest me to go first ? 
Look for fig trees in Regent Park ? Well, it is quite large there . Any specific location in Regent Park ?
A Chelsea tree 5' high is already waiting for me in London, but I still want to visit the famous big one at a hotel, near the Thames river

Good luck, Mai! Stay warm and HAVE FUN!!! Do post pictures :-)

I will , Smyfigs

Grant,
Thank you for the picture that you just posted 


I will look for an old fig tree in Europe and sit under its branches ( no foliage at this time of the year) to pray . Yes, the truth will set me free ... and NOTHING can make me tremble 

Congratulations, have a great time and Good luck!

Yes, do sit under a fig tree, Mai...what a wonderful time u will have.

Oh how fun. No problems taking Figs or fig cuttings with you? Can't wait to hear of your adventures. Safe journeys.

Jodi,
hopefully everything will be fine . I think the US law is tougher than any other countries in the world .

London, UK

Nice scare tactic lol

Yea who knows. Might be suspicious with trees in hand lol

Tomorrow I will ship the trees to an address in London, UK . Hopefully I will get them 3,4 days after my arrival . I was in London last year with 2 suitcases full of ... foods and cuttings. Nothing happened . But this time I do not want to take another chance .   

There is a fig tree at the entrance to Nottingham castle. Also fig trees in the lost gardens of Heligan.

The question is...can you bring cuttings BACK into the U.S? Is this allowed?

[QUOTE=alanmercieca]Make sure that they are mailed without dirt, bare root. If you are to take the risk of mailing them then there is less trouble to get in to if they are bare root.[/QUOTE]

alanmercieca,

yes I already removed all the dirt and 90 % of the roots 

[IMG]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a133/hongkhackimmai/bb3a3ff1-6c53-47d3-87fc-8125a2fa273e_zps0b5aewal.jpg[/IMG]


Smyfigs,
The US does not care if you bring trees out of the country, but it is illegal to bring cuttings/trees back into the US .  They will confiscate if they find cuttings in your baggage 

Good luck with your fig adventure, Mai.

Are visiting only the UK or other European countries?

Safer in luggage. Mail is monitored. Luggage is scanned for money, drugs & explosions. Cutting have no red flags. They dont open luggage unless scanner or drug dogs show interest. My opinion. I been caught by mail.

Yes, I thought so, Mai.  I guess there are other means...

Mai,

You could make a nice crucifix out of 2 cuttings, a fig cutting picture frame or the best one is to make coat hangers and use a fig cutting as the bar wrapped in cloth, be creative!! I am cheering for you.Have fun.

Or you could make a cute little bridge for a fairy garden, out of Ponte tresa cuttings of course. ;)
Call it an art project. Just joking :)

Hehehehe....Figgysid

Slip a few cuttings in a bundle of cinnamon sticks!  

Thank you for all the tricks, guys !
Hope that I can find some good ones . Wish me luck !
One more day, then GO !

Yes a member in the UK asked me to label his cuttings for shipping as "craft wood".  I was thinking of doing god's eye with yarn out of cuttings.  So this brings up the question how did the Ponte Tresa, etc. cuttings get back here?  I can't wait to hear of your adventures Mai.  I am hoping to hop the pond for an adventure on 4-1 maybe Spain or Italy.  Protection around you and the figs.   Enjoy.

Jodi, the God's eye is a good one!  Lol....

Grant, maybe if Mai sprayed some cinnamon on the cuttings they MIGHT pass...the operative word is MIGHT.

Hello Mai,
In London, Buckingham palace garden, on the street side there is supposed to be a very historic rare breed fig tree given to them by some Pop from Vatican...I don't know much details about it but you could find a way to get cuttings. The tree is for sure dormant.
Please be discrete and wear your black Ninja Suit.
Good luck :)

Thank you so much for all tricks and whispers . Look like people here are encouraging me to break the law !!!!  I will restraint myself to do such a thing the lesser the better . Will enjoy the trip and the Nature discovery more than anything ...



On my way from DFW to Heathrow, UK today . Will arrive London early tomorrow     

I'm not sure a whole thread dedicated to breaking the law is a great idea.....

Mai, Have a safe and enjoyable flight and trip.

[QUOTE=Jodi]Oh how fun. No problems taking Figs or fig cuttings with you? Can't wait to hear of your adventures. Safe journeys. [/QUOTE]

Taking figs out of the States is Okay with our USDA .
Bringing bare root trees into UK ? I do not know the law there . If it illegal they will confiscate, that is the worst scenario  . If they say nothing, I guess ---> no problem .

Mai - have a safe trip. Look forward to seeing your adventures documented in text and pictures. You will have a blast whether you find fig trees or not, enjoy yourself!!!

Mai, I always ask permission for cuttings.  In your case, at Buckingham palace, who would you ask?  Okay, so maybe you won't get cuttings from THAT tree...

[QUOTE=alanmercieca]there is a five fig cutting limit in luggage to the UK, trees are not allowed there unless there is a certificate.[/QUOTE]

Mine do not have a phyto certificate but all the roots have to be removed to be qualified as CUTTING even though the trunk is a 3-year-old tree itself and about 2' long !

[QUOTE=brianm]Yea who knows. Might be suspicious with trees in hand lol[/QUOTE]

I carried my trees in hand. Some ladies thought that I carried a vase ! When I arrived Heathrow airport, nobody suspected me anything , but if I tried to hide something then they would know by the way you walked with lack of confidence.

My philosophy : I have nothing to hide . Or you accept it or you take it away ---> both ways are fine with me .
So when they asked me to open the package , I cooperated . They saw the trees . They said trees are not allowed for entry , but cuttings are okay . So I cut off all the roots, except some fine hair. I smiled and the guy said that he did not see the hair (! Thank you, Sir !) .

Wow what an adventure Mai.  I can see the "Fig Discovery" books and movies coming out soon to a theater near you.  Keep us updated on the rest of the adventure.  ;-)

Mai, most of the good stuff is already here!  Enjoy your trip.

My 13 year old granddaughter will be my tour guide during my stay in London UK  



Greetings from London !

Oh she is a beauty Mai.  And smart too.  Look at those fingers playing the piano.  It sounds like such a lovely time.  Enjoy.  

You must be very proud to have such a wonderful grandchild Mai.  The only thing missing in the video was the applause at the end!  I clapped from here in the USA :)

Adreanna is very pretty. And, shes talented also!! Beethoven!!! One of my favorite composers!! Do enjoy your touring and keep posting!!

Another way to ship your cuttings.  

This us wonderful music! Congrats...

I am having some problems with my phone . It is a Galaxy S6 (Samsung) by Sprint ;
1) I went to a Phone store in Central London to buy a sim but they refuse to do it , telling me that I have to unlock the phone first . I do not know how to do it . Can someone here help ?
2) I am frustrated with my phone ! it is useless now except for taking pictures . It is automatically switched to roaming that I am very afraid to use 
3) how to do the GPS coordinates ?  
Thanks
Mai 

[QUOTE=lolita1234]I am having some problems with my phone . It is a Galaxy S6 (Samsung) by Sprint ;
1) I went to a Phone store in Central London to buy a sim but they refuse to do it , telling me that I have to unlock the phone first . I do not know how to do it . Can someone here help ?
2) I am frustrated with my phone ! it is useless now except for taking pictures . It is automatically switched to roaming that I am very afraid to use 
3) how to do the GPS coordinates ?  
Thanks
Mai [/QUOTE]

You have to pay to get it programmed if you want it unlocked.

You can turn off the international roaming if you don't want to use it under settings.

What you can do is load the map area you need for the day then gps works. Most areas can use the function of "make it available offline" If you have this function, you can pin locations.

[QUOTE=alanmercieca]If your phone is unlocked then you'd have a major problem with Sprint, unlocked means it can be used by any carrier, normally a sprint phone can only use sprint, if it's unlocked then your phone would not be able to use sprint unless sprint goes to the trouble of locking it again. In some ways unlocking the phone is illegal unless your phone service is disconnected, the place that would not unlock it for you could get in serious trouble if they did for you, it's not the phone it's sprint why they will no do that. If I were you I'd use a calling ap that uses your phone trough wifi, We have vonage, with our service we can use their ap to make calls around the world from anywhere in the world through wifi at no extra charge.

You should be able to find an unlocked cell phone in London yet I have no idea how much they cost there.[/QUOTE]

No wonder they (Vonage) refused to unlock !
Yes, my daughter did use a calling ap for my phone but today I got lost in the middle of a road (no stores around) ---> no wifi ---> cannot do a thing !

Cheekyjen,
No wifi, cannot load the map ! no Internet, nothing !
I turned off the roaming but it comes back . The vonage guy says roaming turns on automatically, cannot turn it off

The four musketeers ---> ready for fig hunting at Regent Park



These 3 little guys live 1 block away from Regent Park . They have been playing tennis at RP every Saturday, so they sure know every corner of this Park .


For short cut, we entered a private garden reserved for local residents




The garden is quite big, with many tulips and winter flowers . Some cherry trees start to bloom . After 1 hour searching we found no fig tree !

In order to go to RP, the young man told his grandma that we have to go through a tunnel




It is called The Nurse's Maid Tunnel

[QUOTE=lolita1234]
Cheekyjen,
No wifi, cannot load the map ! no Internet, nothing !
I turned off the roaming but it comes back . The vonage guy says roaming turns on automatically, cannot turn it off[/QUOTE]

You have to load the map before you leave the hotel. It will work with GPS so at least you know where you are and which way you need to travel. You will not be able to use it for searching on the run since you have no data. With a little bit of pre-planning and pinning of reataurants, landmarks, it allows for navigational wanderlust.

At the end of the day, you are on vacation. Enjoy it.. allow yourself to get lost a bit... and perhaps, shut down and allow your senses to take you places!

I usually turn my phone to airplane mode when I am international to conserve battery

alan,
Thank you so much for the info . I wish I can drive in London !I will try my best to go to those places 

Please identify this fig :

A family friend in London gave me 2 cuttings of this fig without a name, just a picture of it  

[IMG]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a133/hongkhackimmai/f4ca6e70-a923-48c2-999a-f0d0f970441f_zpsmst83gab.jpg[/IMG]

Nice!  Did you get your phone problem solved?  Many people rent a cellphone in Europe.