Situated above the sea and the vineyards in an oak forest on the steep slopes of the Albères with a dreamlike view over the Roussillon plain, the Mediterranean Sea to the peaks of the Canigou, the beautiful, bright flat has a fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, washing machine, bathroom, WC and 2 bedrooms. The large covered terrace with its comfortable sofa will be your favourite place. Towns lie like toys in the distance below you, with the deep blue sea sparkling on the horizon. The space The cosy, bright flat is about 60 square metres and consists of a large living-dining room with open kitchen, a bedroom with double bed 160x200 cm and view over the plain of Perpignan, a second bedroom with two separate beds 90x200 cm and a pull-out bed (here the view goes into the forest), a bathroom (with washbasin, shower, bidet and washing machine), a corridor with a small storage room and wardrobe and a separate WC. It is normally suitable for 4 adults, but a pull-out bed can be pulled out or baby cot added if required. The large and bright living-dining room and the spacious well-equipped kitchen can be opened to the terrace with large sliding glass doors and has views over the wide plain of Perpignan. The kitchen is open to the living room and is equipped with a fitted kitchen. In addition to a refrigerator with separate freezer compartment, cooker with oven and double sink, it also has a dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker and electric grill, among other things. You will also find extensive cookware in the flat. This is not a typical narrowly equipped holiday home kitchen. You can really cook in this kitchen. And you should. Take advantage of the wide selection of fresh, locally grown food and the wonderful Mediterranean spices, some of which grow in the garden. The most beautiful view, however, is from the covered terrace. Over the treetops of the holm and cork oaks you have a view to the east to the sea about 12 km away, to the north over the plain of Perpignan to the mountain ranges of the Corbieres and to the west to the mostly snow-covered local mountain of the Catalans, the Mont Canigou, about 60 km away. The terrace is large. (approx. 40 sqm) It is tiled with real terracotta and completely covered. There is a comfortable lounge seating area (couch with pouf and coffee table) and a garden table with 6 chairs. In the morning there is sun on the terrace from the east. In the midday heat, when the sun is high, you enjoy shade, then in the late afternoon the sun comes back onto the terrace from the west. A fast and stable fibre optic internet connection with Wlan-6 even allows you to work professionally with a view of the mountains and the deep blue sea... Guest access Plot / Garden The property, just like the surrounding area, is situated on a wooded hillside and overgrown with cork oaks and holm oaks. There you will find lovely semi-shaded spots in the heat with a wonderful view over the plain of Perpignan. On the steep slopes of the property grow some interesting Mediterranean plants including aloe vera and wild herbs such as thyme, rosemary or oregano. Swimming pool The large, well-maintained swimming pool (about 350m as the crow flies from the house, 850m if you take the road) is shared with the residents of Domaine-des-Alberes. You can see it from the house and of course you can walk there, but beware, there are some metres of altitude in between. There is also a toilet and a room where you can change clothes. Tennis court & table tennis room Next to the swimming pool there is a tennis court and a table tennis room. Just like the swimming pool, they can be used free of charge. Internet access There are 2 W-lan networks in the Villa-Josephine, the one based on GSM is the more powerful, but as it sometimes fluctuates in the mountains, the house is additionally connected based on DSL, so that teleworking / workation is possible. From the end of 2022, the house will be connected to the fibre optic network. Climate protection / energy independence The indoor climate is produced by a quiet, reversible air-conditioning system with a heat pump, which, like the hot-water heating and all electricity-operated appliances, feeds itself during the day from its own solar system on the roof. It feeds its surplus into the public grid. As a rule, more than twice as much energy is fed in as is taken out at night. Gas is not consumed at all. If you drive an electric car, please contact us and we will show you how you can use the surplus from the solar system and drive "green". Other things to note Accessibility The house is easy to reach. After leaving the motorway (A9) at Le Boulou, you drive 15 minutes on the country road. The last 5 minutes the road winds up the hill. Access to the holiday home is at garden level, but unfortunately not suitable for wheelchairs, as the road is higher and the property is on a steep slope, you have to go up about 15 steps of irregular natural stone stairs. The house is at the top of the hill, for shopping you have to go down to the valley, so a car is useful. You can park it in the shade of a cork oak in the parking space reserved for you. High performance Internet / Wifi A fast and stable fibre optic internet connection with WIFI-6 even allows you to work professionally with a view of the mountains and the deep blue sea... we call it workation. Smoking This house is a non-smoking house. Smoking is only allowed on the terrace and only carefully. It is best to fill the ashtray with a cm of water so that the wind does not carry embers to the surrounding trees. (Danger of forest fire) Mémé Josephine The house bears the name of an old Catalan woman, my French "grandmother of choice" Josephine, who lived in Douilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse below the large Carthage castle of the same name (see descriptions of excursions in the flat) and grew wine (including an excellent Macabeu vielle vigne) and vegetables there. She was the grandmother of my exchange partner Béatrice and I spent many weeks with her as a child in the summer while Béa was cramming for her exams in Avignon. She and her daughter, my wonderful host mother Jannine, gave me delicious meals and spoiled me, and I learned a lot about farm life. In addition to her vineyard and large vegetable garden, she had various chickens and rabbits and dogs and cats. She and Jannine, who still lives in Douilhac, taught me many recipes and made our family aware of the cultural richness of the region around Laroque, which eventually led to us settling here 35 years ago.