I searched "Paris hip store" and it came up. I was just thinking that you are working "overtime" today, maybe making up for the time you spent researching for this thread? ;)

Next clue:
The first settler of these famous island group was an Irishman, who supposedly was marooned on one of the islands. These islands later inspired a famous Brit to write this important theory.

Name:
The settler (7,7)
The island he lived on (not the collective name of the islands) 8 letters, 2nd letter is L
The theory (9, 4th letter is L)
"L" from Colette

That's funny -- I typed Paris hip store into Google and one of links that came up that to do with Bande-a-part (which I of course offered as an earlier clue).

I'm seriously addicted. I'm staying late to do research on random Fodor's clues.

Anyway, I should pull myself away before I start researching the next one.

Oh, I got this one already.

Patrick Watkins
Floreana
Evolution

Galapagos came to mind immediately but the theory I had in mind was "natural selection" so it took me a bit longer to figure this all out.

Yeap. I was worried that people would think the islands were in Europe, but guess not.

Now you get to do more overtime by coming up with the next clue!

Ok, I'll offer this one. It's very easy if you've been to this place. If not, I don't know how useful Google will be. So a bit of an unfair clue, I guess.

Anyway, I should deifnitely go after this -- it's Friday and I should be out partying and not staying late to make up some stupid Fodor's clues. How pathetic. :-)

Clue: Apparently this sob story involving (character: 5 letters) and (character: 9 letters) and a cathedral in (place: 7 letters) is popular in Japan. The story supposedly takes place in a suburb (7 letters) of the place above, and the interesting is that the name of the suburb is also the name of a "suburb" of a major American city (this is stretching things a bit).

So:

Identify 2 characters: 5 letters (2nd is "e"), 9 letters for second character

Identify place where the cathedral is at. That's 7 letters.

Identify suburb of place. 7 letters. (2nd is "o")

Bon week-end!

I think I figured it out.
Nello & Pastrache
Antwerp, Hoboken

That's right.

Fortunately I don't have easy web access over the weekend so I won't be too addicted. But you can give us another clue in the meantime.

This explorer took a voyage from S. America to Polynesia over half a century ago. His movie on this voyage won best documentary at the Oscar 4 years later. A musuem in an European city houses the artefacts from the explorer's expeditions.

Name:
1. Explorer (4,9; 3rd letter of first name is "o")
2. Museum (3-4)
3. European city (4, last letter is "o")
"o" from Hoboken from last clue.

Thor Heyerdahl
Kon-Tiki
Oslo

Yes, DT.
Your turn.

Those years as an Anthro student finally come in handy!

This one is along the same lines.

Clue: This European sailed in the early '30s aboard a 32' boat to New Zealand under a flag of his own making.

Name the European: 2 words - 1st word, 6 letters: 2nd word, 7 letters with 6th letter an "R" from Thor.

Name the boat - 2 words - 1st word, 2 letters: 2nd word, 7 letters with 2nd letter an "A" from Heyerdahl.

Name the his city of birth: 1 word, 4 letters with 2nd letter an "I" from Kon-Tiki.

George Dibbern
Te Rapunga
Kiel

That's it! Over to you, 111op.

He (name: first = 4 letters, last = 4 letters) has an interesting moustache and smokes pipes and is probably best remembered for the dismantling of a (9 letters, 4th = "o"). He's from (6 letters) and makes (2 words: first = 9 letters, second = 6 letters, 3rd and 4th = "e").

Hint: Actually I only just read about this guy in "Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong," but coincidentally this character pops up in a Fodor's regular's (very recent) trip report.

José Bové , McDonalds, Millau, Roquefort cheese?

He's actually not from Millau (though the McDonalds is) but from Larzac. I think that the two places are quite close though.

It's your turn now.

Did you figure this out from StCirq's report, by the way?

Yes, from StCirq's report. I didn't have a chance to read it until just now. But when I saw your hint, I knew the answer was probably in her post.

BTW, the clue from grandmere last week on Frédéric Mistral, I just came across his name this past weekend when reading "A Year in Provence", which I believe you've read. It was in the November chapter.

Really? I'll have to go back and take a look. I haven't read it in quite a while. I find it very entertaining. Isn't mistral also the strong wind or something?

The one trivial thing I remember from that book is that argument as to whether there should be an accent on the "e" in Luberon -- it's just exactly the sort of thing I'd remember. :-)