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Fig adventure in Europe

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 :)
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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     
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I'm not sure a whole thread dedicated to breaking the law is a great idea.....
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Mai, Have a safe and enjoyable flight and trip.
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Originally Posted by Jodi
Oh how fun. No problems taking Figs or fig cuttings with you? Can't wait to hear of your adventures. Safe journeys.


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 .
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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!!!
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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...
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Originally Posted by alanmercieca
there is a five fig cutting limit in luggage to the UK, trees are not allowed there unless there is a certificate.


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 !

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Originally Posted by brianm
Yea who knows. Might be suspicious with trees in hand lol


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 !) .
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  • Jodi
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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.  ;-)
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  • Sas

Mai, most of the good stuff is already here!  Enjoy your trip.
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My 13 year old granddaughter will be my tour guide during my stay in London UK  



Greetings from London !
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Oh she is a beauty Mai.  And smart too.  Look at those fingers playing the piano.  It sounds like such a lovely time.  Enjoy.  
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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 :)
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Adreanna is very pretty. And, shes talented also!! Beethoven!!! One of my favorite composers!! Do enjoy your touring and keep posting!!
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Another way to ship your cuttings. 19-diy-ideas-with-twigs-sticks-tree-branches.jpg 

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  • Sas

This us wonderful music! Congrats...
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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 
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Originally Posted by 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 


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.
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Originally Posted by 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.


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
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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

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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

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Originally Posted by 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


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

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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 
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Please identify this fig :

A family friend in London gave me 2 cuttings of this fig without a name, just a picture of it  
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Nice!  Did you get your phone problem solved?  Many people rent a cellphone in Europe.
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