Bondi Beach | Sydney | real estate

Sydney is consistently voted one of the best cities in the world. Would you agree?
That it's voted one of the world's best cities doesn't surprise me at all. Because it's very progressive. It's influenced by other countries, but it's still very pure and its own place as well. It's very unique. I must say that from the time I arrived to today, it really has changed quite a lot. It has gotten much better.

Where did you live in Sydney?
I lived in the Mossman area, in a beautiful place called Cremorne Point, which lies on the North Side. Sydney is surrounded by water, and we were right there on the harbor. We didn't have a view of the Opera House or anything like that, because we were looking in the opposite direction. Never­theless, it was a beautiful view. Eventually, I moved from the North Side to the Eastern Suburbs. We had a beautiful apartment on Bondi Beach. Selling that place is one of my biggest regrets in life. We sold it for a song, and, of course, now the real estate there is worth so much. But anyway …

Where do you stay now when you're in town?
There is a charming little hotel on Bondi Beach called Ravesi's. It's been there for as long as I can remember. It started out as a two-star hotel and then they piled a lot of money into it. I'm not sure if they have their third or fourth star now. You overlook Bondi Beach there. That is just worth its weight in gold to me, because those are all my memories. Just looking at that beach and walking on it and eating fish and chips on it and swimming. My favorite thing to do when I was living there was to get up every morning around 6 or 6:30 and run on the beach. Even better was the walk from Bondi­ to Bronte, which is about two or three beaches away. Bronte is approximately­ 45 minutes from the center of town and completely clean. The color of the water is extraor­dinary. The temperature of the water, depending on the time of year, is pretty great. I would say the walk from Bondi to Bronte, back and forth, takes 45 minutes. It's got a lot of rocks and cliffs and beautiful beaches. It's just a priceless experience. For me, it's a nostalgic experience.