And so we made our way to the Pont Alexandre III bridge for the men's 10km open-water on the River Seine.
It was an early start and one had risen just as dawn had passed. A few stops on the Metro 1 line brought us to the Franklin D Roosevelt stop.
Emerging up onto the street, you were struck by how clean the pathways, buildings and shop fronts, looked. Looking as far north the eye would allow, the boutiques and restaraunts boasted a prestine decor. You would like to keep admiring but the business of the day was in the opposite direction.
Upon arrival in the press section overlooking the Pont Alexandre, the participants were making their way down to the start. Among them was Daniel Wiffen, competing in his third event at these Games, this after winning gold in the 800m and bronze in the 1500m.
From the indoor thrill ride that was the La Défense Arena, now it was an encounter with the much-maligned Seine. A fortune was spent making sure it was clean. Politicians had a dip, pre-Games, to test its worthiness. The women's 10k took place on Thursday; there were no complaints. However, Sweden's Victor Johansson voiced concerns about the water quality and did not partake, as did Ahmed Jaouadi from Tunisia, though reasons for his non-participation were not clear
And so the hooter sounded to send the 29 male competitors on their way. Certainly, not a crowded field for this event, where six laps of 1.6km are swam, with the finish line also at the Pont Alexandre.
The current is with the field as they swim the first half of each lap and against them on the way back. Like a jockey might favour hogging the inside rail, the field soon favoured one side of the river, close to the wall.
In watching the big screen, following live feeds on your laptop or listening to the on-site commentary, you followed what was happening amid all the heads rising and no little splashing.
Defending champion Florian Wellbrock from Germany was the early leader, with Hungary's Kristof Rasovszky (above), the world champion, and Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy in pursuit.
After the opening lap, Wiffen was 17th; he would eventually move up to 12th and head the chasing pack that had got detached from the leading group.
As the race progressed, he would drop back a few places.
Up front, Rasovszky would take over from Wellbrock, with Paltrinieri still hanging on in third.
Wellbrock was back in front by lap four but again Rasovszky responded and retook the lead.
The former was finding the going tough and dropped back, leaving his fellow countrymen Oliver Klemet as his sole pursuer. At the finish line, the Hungarian's winning margin was just two seconds as he came home in 1:50.52.
On a good morning for Hungary, David Betlehem, who finished just behind Daniel Wiffen in last Sunday's 1500m final, was third.
Post-race reaction from Wiffen
And then we went chasing for Wiffen's placing. He came 18th in a time of 1.57.20, some six and a half minutes behind the winner. Twenty-five finishers at the end of it all. Hungary flags to the fore, as their duo took prominence on the podium.
The 10k open-water swim: it's a bit of a mad event!, perhaps best suited to the early morning, not sure it warrants a prime-time billing.
For Wiffen, it was a box ticked at these Games and credit goes to him for finishing the race, this after a few doubts as to whether he would compete in the first place. No additional training was put in for this slog on the Seine.
That said, he did become a 'dual sport' Olympian and had his picture taken with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
A row of interested journalists, not just from Ireland, greeted him in the mixed zone afterwards.
He was at pains to tell everyone that this was his "first and last" marathon outing, and added "it was the worst and the best thing I've ever done."
As for never doing the slog again, well he did not emphatically rule it out, when saying: "If I were to do it again I would only do it in Ireland. I would do it with my brother Nathan and I think the Liffey Swim would be quite cool to do."
Wiffen added that he did suffer during the 10km course.
"It was the most painful thing. The start was pretty bad, I got punched in the stomach and think I pulled my groin halfway through and in terms of the last lap I was absolutely dead.
"I knew I was never in it from the start. I was hoping not to come last. I could see all the splash 50 metres ahead of me. On lap three I was leading the chasing group and nobody else decided they wanted to push it except me. And then I decided it was over."
In terms of the positive, he did get to swim alongside his training partner Tobias Robinson, got news that one of his best friends Hector Pardoe finished in the top ten and his finishing position on the Seine bettered his placing in the 1500m in Tokyo.
On Monday afternoon, Wiffen and our other Olympic medallists will be honoured at a public homecoming event in Dublin. After that there are holiday plans, taking in Barcelona and Bali for starters.
And then his thoughts will turn to the World Short Course Championships. The cycle begins again, culminating at LA 2028.
Before all though, there a few nights of partying in Paris for Wiffen. This after achieving his goal of becoming an Olympic champion. Not a bad fortnight for the Co Armagh competitor, delivering on what he said he would do, on what he terms the "pinnacle" of our sport.
And there's a lot more to come.
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