Approaching the shiny glass pyramid, designed by IM Pei. Immediately outside the entrance is a small rock garden. Jaunty songs burble out of hidden speakers in the rocks. I find this unnerving and unnecessarily literal. The lobby is packed.
People mill around blankly, shoulder to shoulder.
The crowd is overwhelmingly white, despite the racially mixed nature of the city. There are three cars hanging from the vast ceiling. I do not know. A mammoth HMV superstore takes up half the lobby. We present our tickets and are herded downstairs to begin our tour.