Shalom and Bonjour

I wanted to do a little getaway for Mother's Day weekend, so we found a toddler-friendly destination that was new for us but only 3 hours away! Dubuque, Iowa is a small town right over the Mississippi River from Wisconsin. It might not sound exotic to travel to Iowa, but it was a genuinely cute town and fun weekend. The Fenelon Place Elevator's claim to fame is that it's shortest, steepest railway in the world. It has two tiny cable cars that can transport people up and down the bluff for a view of three states.  It was built in the 1880s for a wealthy banker who got tired of taking over an hour to travel just two blocks by horse and carriage from his house on top of the bluffs to his work at the bottom. We didn't ride it, but stopped to look at the views. The girls enjoyed a miniature version that we found in town the next day. We stayed at the Grand Harbor Resort and were pleasantly surprised to have a river view from our room.  There was a nice river walk right outsi...