Recommendation 6
Prologue 12

Part 1: Between Reality and Dreams, at the Threshold of Travel

Let's Save Money - 18 Rules for Strong Solidarity
Yeah, let's go, Sicily - who among us has been there? 21
Should I Go with a Package? - 25 Things to Consider 8 Months Before Departure
Want to get a group T-shirt? - What do you guys have to show off? 29
Retired and taking blood pressure medication - I'm middle-aged, so I'm sick. 35
Can I swim? Bring your swimsuit, please. 37
Hunting Instinct - The Fun of Playing in a Pack 39
Catch Me and Search - Tabletop Theory 42
How to Make Your Trip More Enriching - Reading Goethe's Italian Journey 46
One bed per person - Plan, One Night in Rome 51
3 hours before departure - I'm tired from stretching 54
Which Seat is Best? - Airplane Seating 56
I'm really looking forward to it - will things go according to plan? 59

Part 2: What We Found in Sicily, the Island Where Time Stopped

Step 15 - I'll get over it 66
Hot City Rome, Small Memories - Remembering Termini Station 69
Recharge from the Unfamiliar - A Rainy Night in Rome 71
From now on, Sicily - the moment we leave, we are freer than yesterday. 75
No car? - We don't have a rental car 79
I Want a Nice Room Too - Shoe Throwing 84
At Piazza Duomo - Good Times 88
Erice, the Hidden Space of the Weak - Erice, the Sky Village 94
Respect the new rules and customs - I got a ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato) ticket 102
Land of the Gods, Agrigento - Acragas 105
Sicilian Healing Time - This is Sicily 111
Etna - The Windy Mountain 119
Flexible and open-minded - it's not easy to have this mindset. 127
The Sea and Freedom - The Sage of Ortigia 130
In search of exceptional cuisine - fine dining, but not always 140
A Classy Dining Adventure - Our Journey Resembles Jazz 147
Sicilian Volcano Winery - A volcano is erupting, but you want to go to a winery? 153
The Best Gift of Life - People I Met on My Travels 163
A Village Reminiscent of The Godfather - Savoca 167
As the 500 millionth visitor - sitting in the Taormina Amphitheater 174
The Social Instincts of Early Man - A Raw Oyster and a Glass of Wine at the Ortigia Market 183
An Ordinary Morning on the Destination - Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean 187
Eureka is here? - Archimedes 191
A Story of Being Cursed in Sicily - This Happens Too 195
Who Are You? - Friends (Compagno) 200
Sicily, Between Expectation and Reality - Dreaming of Romance and Facing Reality 207
The Art of Graceful Survival: The Secrets of a Flexible Life from the Millennium Island 211
The Most Powerful Sicilian Ceramics - Traces of Love and Revenge Engraved on Ceramics 214
Nerello Mascalese 217
At the Sea, on the Boundary of Fear and Courage - Be Humble 224
They are somehow similar - The Legend of Colapesce (Leggenda di Colapesce) 230
Lost - Not Where My Heart Should Go 233

Part 3: Sicily, the most memorable moments

The day I went to fine dining 240
The Sea of ​​That Night 243
245 hours with friends
The wonderful Cefalù 247
Road to Mount Etna 252
Remember the day we went swimming? 256
Volcano in Memory 259
Reasons to Remember Volcanoes 262
265 before it collapses

'Old Friends and Sicily' is a travel essay collection that quietly illuminates 'old friendships' and 'the warmth of life discovered on the road.'
The trip to Sicily, taken by ten friends nearing their sixties, is depicted not as a simple travelogue, but as a time to re-evaluate each other's lives.
The motivation for departure revealed by the author in the prologue is simple and clear.
“Shall we set off for good?” was the starting point of this journey, and as the pages turn, that question leads to reflections on life and friendship.


The book honestly and humorously unfolds the small preparations and arguments that arise between reality and dreams, at the threshold of travel (from affectionate arguments over a single T-shirt to room assignments and rental car issues).
This process allows the reader to naturally experience how the event called 'travel' reveals and refines relationships.
In particular, scenes where friends open a bank account together, create a logo with AI, and establish principles like 'One bed per person' show that this trip is not a simple escape, but a moment to reconstruct a 'common life'.


The virtue of this collection of prose is that the sentences are not overly decorative, yet sometimes leave room for poetry.
The author weaves together relatable moments through the details of his travels—the hustle and bustle of choosing accommodations, a billiards bet, a plate of raw oysters at the market—and as a result, naturally reveals universal themes of friendship and reorganizing life.
The diverse voices of those who appear in the testimonials (Oriental medicine doctors, doctors, civil servants, farm owners, etc.) prove that this story is not limited to the private records of a specific class.


'Sicily with Old Friends' is a book that exquisitely blends the lightness of a travel book with the thoughtfulness of an essay.
Through the theme of 'a trip with friends', it asks in a calm and persuasive way how to fill the remaining time in life and what one should leave for.
The light and shadows of Sicily, and the moments of friendship that were forged there, will linger in the reader's heart for a long time.
This book will be a warm companion not only to middle-aged readers, but also to anyone contemplating the 'next chapter of life.'