Finding the Via Francigena is generally not difficult. The various local friends of the Via Francigena try to maintain trail markers. Or, sometimes there are more noticeable markers in the villages and towns.

Sometimes I scratch my head. The markers are complicated; the signs are hard to locate; or the signs become confusing because multiple trails intersect.

The Via Francigena signs are generally helpful. Sometimes one has to think about them.

Sometimes I receive help from other walkers.

While these four French fellows are not walking the Via Francigena, our paths crisscross briefly because they are walking from Lyon to Rome (over several years). One says: “My name is Francis, I’m originally from Assisi, I have to walk to Assisi.”

Sometimes I meet a hiker that grabs my attention. I almost asked this young girl crossing a river with a pack as big as she is, carrying a lantern, “Have you found an honest person yet?”