DH away every weekend in July - help!

[tonton]

I work fulltime in a pretty stressful job and love my weekends with DH, dd1 (nearly7) and dd2 (just 1). But DH is going to be away most weekends this summer. How can I keep the girls entertained without completely exhausting myself?
I can't go with him - he's playing gigs abroad.
I always get a bit down when dh is way too...which doesn't help.
I live in south london. I thought about booking in to some nice hotels but of course what would i do with myself at night? Plus they're probably all booked up now anyway.
It must sound awful that I'm so thrown by spending time alone with my kids. But i need a break at the weekend too, as do they.

Do you know any single parents? They have this to cope with every weekend, and I'm sure they'll happily embrace a temporarily single friend. Tbh I wouldn't advise a hotel at all - perhaps something like centreparcs for one of the weekend if your dds both like being in the water say, but i think that looking after your children in a strange place by yourself is much worse than being at home.

I would plan some outings - I find it helpful to get out of the house for at least part of the day, and in July the weather should be better so you can get to one of the big london parks without hassle.
Tbh I quite like the odd evening wthout dh. Choose a dvd that you wouldn't usually watch, pour a glass of wine and enjoy!

What about visiting friends at the weekends ? We have friends we don't see so much now since moving out of London but love it when they come to stay. Or ask friends to come and stay with you ? Two weekends at home and two away.