We added 2 days onto the Germany trip in September to see a bit of Austria. We had an amazing time, but we both commented that we would not add days on the end of a trip to travel somewhere else again. The trip is so full of activity that adding another big city could be hard. We barely scratched the surface in Vienna, and you don't want to rush through Paris. If you are used to long trips, it may be different for you. You also get very spoiled on an ABD having the guides handle luggage and all of the logistics.
Our kids are older, and being gone that long was too much in terms of missing schoolwork, activities etc, even though my mom is a retired teacher. I think the extra days were a bit much for my parents too. It may depend on how close your little one is to the person you have caring for him while you're gone. We did have a binder for my parents and I printed off pictures of what we'd be doing each day for the kids so that one page had the kids' schedule that day, and the facing page had our schedule. My parents said that our 7 year old really enjoyed that.
I can relate to the thought that "hey, we're in Europe - we should see as much as we can" but saving it just gives you an excuse for the next trip, right?
Laurie
DW is hesitant to add extra days to an already long trip away from DS. For those who travel without their kids what are your thoughts? While this is a once in a life time trip for us it is a long time to be away from our son. He will be 3 about to turn 4 if age makes a difference in your opinion on this.
... Just saying !!
We always fly out of New Orleans. I was figuring we would have to pay a little more for our flight than a direct JFK flight. Just looking for an idea on prices so I would know if something was completely outrageous or not. Didn't want my excitement in looking at flights to book getting the best of me when making decisions for this trip. 
