Hi Steve,
In march 2005 my girlfriend and I went to New Zealand for 4 weeks. One day we were at a youth hostel and a car arrived. Out stepped one young man and one young women. They were from Sweden. The woman then took a small cradle from the backseat. You guessed it: baby onboard. They just packed some stuff and their kid, flew 24 hours to NZ, rented a car and had a lot of fun. The three of 'em.
I'm sure you might have some reasons not to take your kids, but then again, why not? Especially if that solves your problems. If you wanna climb the Eiffeltower by yourself, send the kids away with mom to go shopping the Champs Elysee. When mom wants to go see The Sacrada Familia in Barcelona, you take the kids to have a drink on the Ramblas. Then you're off to Toscane (Italy) to experience great sightseeing together.
If you really want, you can drop the kids here in Holland. Everybody works here, so we've got plenty of nurseries. Costs you as little as 200 dollars a day...per kid
Patrick