It certainly hasn't been a bad place for Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar to come to work for the past two weeks.
Every other day, since the Paris Games began, Clancy and Artacho del Solar have plied their trade directly beneath the Eiffel Tower.
How many glances must they have stolen between points? How many times have they had to pinch themselves that this could be the setting of their Olympic dream coming true?
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As the supporters begin to fill up the stands for Australia's biggest game yet, every single spectator does an immediate double-take, spinning around with their phone cameras or posing for a selfie with Paris' steel behemoth in the background.
For two weeks, La Tour Eiffel has been the star of the beach volleyball events. But no longer.
The semifinal stage is when dreams really start being realised and crushed. There are Olympic medals on the line now, and no matter how tempting it might be, Clancy and Artacho del Solar must know they can't afford a moment's distraction.
Tonight they are up against Brazilian pair Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa — ranked number one in the world — with a spot in the gold medal match up for grabs.
The Aussies reached those heights three years ago, but no further. A silver medal was the end result from a final against the USA, a result to be proud of but — in Clancy's words, it "wasn't the colour we wanted".
Retribution is on their mind, but before they can even get that chance this imposing Brazilian duo needs to be handled first.
Australia makes a sloppy start, with some uncharacteristic errors on Brazil's serve putting Artacho del Solar and Clancy behind early. There are fears already that this could get away from them.
Without wanting to offend the beach volleyball aficionados who follow the sport religiously outside of Olympics time, it seems as if the key to a successful team can be broken down to two elements — communication and desperation.
Clancy and Artacho del Solar have been playing together since 2017 and clearly have built a level of chemistry most other teams would be envious of. Their communication must be bordering on telepathic by now, and if they can't read each other's thoughts yet they can certainly read each others' body language.
These two women can cover an enormous amount of ground, and one very rarely finds themselves in a difficult position without the readily available support of the other.
That's where the desperation comes in.
There is no such thing as a lost cause in beach volleyball, it seems. At least not with these two, who would sooner take a face full of sand than admit defeat on a single point.
All of this might be prerequisites for any Olympic standard team, but there is clearly something that elevates Clancy and Artacho del Solar above the average and into an Olympic semifinal.
It also helps drag them back into the first match. Eventually, their defiance wears down Brazil's offence and the Australians take the first set.
By the time the second gets underway the sun has almost completely set. The Eiffel Tower is glowing in front of clouds framed by the day's last light, and not a single person inside the stadium is looking at it.
Brazil is fighting back. Silva Ramos is 194cm tall, and seemingly impossible to get the ball past at the net.
Neither Clancy or Artacho del Solar are making many mistakes, but momentum has certainly flipped again. The Brazilians are creative and powerful and the second set swiftly gets away from Australia.
A deciding set is now a test of Australia's endurance and resolve. Anybody who has ever taken a beach jog — either for fun, sport or just because the sand is too bloody hot — can attest to how taxing it is.
But there is life in Clancy and Artacho del Solar yet. A remarkable recovery early in the third set turns a lost cause into a point won and sees the Australian flags outnumber the Brazilian ones for the first time all night.
Almost immediately after Brazil wins the rally of the match, after both sides somehow kept themselves alive three or four times more than they had any right to. At that point, a man in a Brazil football kit with 'Ronaldo 9' on the back nearly falls down the stairs in celebration.
The third set ebbs and flows, painfully close. A mistake will decide it, and unfortunately it's Clancy who makes it.
She miscues a return of serve, her dig shanking behind her and forcing Artacho del Solar to scramble to keep it alive. She does, but Clancy can't keep it in play.
That gives Brazil match point, which is swiftly converted.
Australia's golden dream is snuffed out in a matter of seconds, all the tension released as a Brazilian beach party breaks out around them.
The lights in the stadium are shut off and the Eiffel Tower begins to sparkle. It is quite beautiful, but neither Clancy or Artacho del Solar are sticking around to enjoy the scenery.
If you're going to experience Olympic heartbreak, this is probably the place to do it. But at the same time these close friends and fierce competitors will know how close they were to having their own names up in those Paris lights.
- Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar will play for the bronze medal against Switzerland at 5am Saturday (AEST). Follow all the action via ABC Sport's live blog.
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