Alcuin's door leads to a quiet, gardened courtyard in the middle of a smallish city house: open to the sky, a trellis of vines shading the flagstones, a fountain to one side, a niche with a tiny shrine in it, a selection of reclining couches arranged in a conversational circle with little tables set conveniently nearby...

It's a great place to congregate and talk or relax or play games, if someone has a deck of cards.