Dophinmomcca, a clue to your question comes in a hagiographic piece about the McCanns written on 16 December 2007 by 'The Times' journalist (cough) David James Smith.
Here's the relevant extract:
QUOTE
At about 7.30pm, Kate and Gerry showered and changed and sat down to have a quiet glass of the sauvignon blanc. They were first to the table at the restaurant at 8.35 and spent some minutes talking to a couple from Hertfordshire two more tennis players at the next table, who were eating with their young children. As they chatted, Gerry thought how lucky he was, his children asleep nearby, he and Kate free to come and enjoy some adult time at the restaurant and not have to sit with their children, as this couple were.
And that's the whole problem. For all the time the McCanns spent with Madeleine and the twins on the supposed "family" vacation, they would've been better off leaving them with family back in the UK and going off for a week by themselves.