Month: May 2016

Travel

Let’s grab a $6,600 Louisville-to-London plane ticket to see Jennifer Lawrence

An occasional look at premium travel from Louisville.

With Louisville’s own Jennifer Lawrence tripping (hah!) the light fantastic last night in London, Boulevard thought it’d be fun to join the Oscar winner on the red carpet there.

Where: London. When: Friday to Sunday. Airline: Delta and Virgin Atlantic. Route: Louisville to Atlanta to Heathrow; Detroit connection on the return. How much: $6,648 for economy to Atlanta, then business class to London. Virgin Atlantic reservations.

Where to stay? Consider TripAdvisor’s No. 1 rated Hotel 41. It has an executive suite available for Friday and Saturday at $1,379 a night, including taxes and fees; reservations.

Related: Airbnb London properties. The New York Times’ London travel coverage, where you can read more about Westminster Hall and Big Ben; photo, top. Old Louisville’s Belgravia Court meets “Downton” creator Julian Fellows’ new London-based novel.

Real Estate

What Belgravia Court has in common with ‘Downton’ creator Fellowes’ new work

Julian Fellowes has just published a new book — Belgravia — which like Old Louisville’s Belgravia Court, is named for one of London’s most posh neighborhoods. Belgravia will be a serialized historical drama published as an app; it opens on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo at a ball thrown by the Duchess of Richmond in Brussels, according to Town & Country.

In Louisville, Belgravia Court property seldom hits the market. But at least one — 419 Belgravia — is now listed for $395,000, according to the Realtors association.

Photo, top: Belgravia Court’s famous Pink Palace. Map, below: how to get there.

The A-list

Derby quiz: It’s sometimes black, but mostly red — and always walked on

21c Museum Hotel rolled out a black one Derby Eve. But nearly every other celebrity-stocked venue opted for the traditional red (Mayor Greg Fischer‘s tweet is Exhibit A) — leaving Boulevard wondering about the history of red carpets. They date to 458 BC!

The Jennifer Lawrence Diary™

Jennifer LawrenceBoulevard reviews the latest media coverage of the Oscar-winning Louisville native in our exclusive Jennifer Lawrence Diary™. Today’s news, rated on a scale of 1-5 stars:

Three starsIs it just us, or is there something especially British about the Daily Star’s headline this morning? Look: “Jennifer Lawrence turns sex kitten by baring her bra in serious image revamp.”

The scene last night: somewhere in London, where Lawrence, 25, was partying after a screening earlier in the evening of her latest film, X Men: Apocalypse, where she’d fallen after a stiletto heel gave way while she was greeting fans. “The blond bombshell,” the Star growls, “stripped right down to a lacy bra-like dress, and risked a major wardrobe fail in the process. The black figure-hugging frock ended in a floral skirt and allowed the hottie to flash some serious cleavage as she passed the paps.”

Serious cleavage, indeed, based on the Star photos with the story — earning them three stars! (An accompanying sidebar about other celebrities is more blunt: “The biggest boobs in showbiz.”)

Related: Lawrence has developed a reputation for being something of a klutz, according to the Independent.

The A-list

“We have loyal people who come year after year and I have the pleasure of talking to people from all over the country and that is so much fun. Oklahoma, Texas, New York!”

— Wilma Barnstable, 83-year-old matriarch of the Barnstable family, in W magazine after Friday’s annual Barnstable-Brown Derby party.

Related: Both of Tiger Woods’ exes made the party rounds Derby weekend — and organizers were ordered to keep the two blondes apart (Fox News).

Executive Pay

The 25 best-paid hedge fund managers took home a combined $12.94 billion in income last year, according to The New York Times, which makes the best-paid executives at big Louisville employers look like amateurs.

Jeffrey Immelt
Immelt

Of 11 companies tracked by Boulevard, the exec with the biggest paycheck last year was GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, who got $33 million, including stock awards, the change in his pension account value, and other benefits.