I make it up to Palo Alto most years the Irish are in town. Most, but not all. The game is on Thanksgiving weekend, so generally speaking, it tends to be predominantly Irish fans in attendance.
In past years, the Irish fans outnumbered Stanford fans by like 2-1. However, given the success of recent years for the Cardinal, I would assume the scales have tipped more in Stanford's favor. Still, given it is a holiday weekend, the student population is very low for this game.
I would suggest contacting some local ND alumni groups in Northern California and getting some information that way. Palo Alto is a great town and they Bay Area has great public transportation. Be sure you look in to parking situations no matter where you stay. Many San Francisco area hotels charge for parking and they don't allow in and out so it can get quite costly.
If you want any other info, just send me a PM and I can help you out with whatever I can. I am thinking about coming up for this game (hopefully NDinL.A. will join me too) so we will definitely have to hook up for some tailgating and brews!
